


Ink Spots

by RiYuYami



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Bendy and "Bendy" are two different characters, Canon-Based, Demonic ink, Gen, Henry and Bendy travel the studio together, Illustrated, Wandering is a Terrible Sin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-13 21:23:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 110,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14121120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiYuYami/pseuds/RiYuYami
Summary: Henry hadn’t expected to deal with a monster that wore the smile of his favorite creation, nor did he expect for said favorite creation to be his ally in his attempts at escaping the mess that Joey Drew dragged him into.Well, it looks like it’s him and Bendy against whatever lies ahead of them in Joey Drew Studios’ inner workings.





	1. Come on Down to the Cartoon Side, Take a Look Around There'll be Lots to Find

**Author's Note:**

> I shouldn’t start a new fic, I have so many to work on, but I really love stories where Bendy and Henry team up to get out of the studio together while trying to survive against “Bendy” and the other enemies in the studio.
> 
> So, this is my attempt at that, with my own twists and turns in it.
> 
> On with the fic!
> 
> EDIT: I included artwork! All art in chapter one was drawn by me!
> 
> EDIT II: I am changing Henry's last name from Ross to Stein because we now have an official last name for him. I won't change it for Pulling Strings, that's too many stories to edit, but for this, it's an easy fix. I also changed the chapter title because this is more fitting for the story.

Henry pulled the switch, and tensed up when the lights dimmed suddenly, just as he heard the sounds of machinery and liquid moving above and around him. Why did a cold sense of dread rush down his spine, all he did was finally turn on that machine, was this really such a bad thing?

Considering all the work he had to put into this, and the strange things he had seen in such a short amount of time… maybe there was something more to this Ink Machine than meets the eye?

Shaking his head, Henry decided to just head back to the other room, he’d worry about such things when he finally got the chance to speak with Joey. Speaking of him, where was the guy anyway? What a terrible host, bringing Henry back, and not even being there to greet him? Or to even leave him some sort of note outside of the one that said, _‘Solve my puzzle, and turn on the machine, Henry!’_ that the former animator found on his desk in his old office.

Maybe the cheerful tone of the letter that asked for him to come back was a ruse, maybe Joey was still bitter after all these years. Then again, that wasn’t surprising, Henry knew his old friend was one to hold onto grudges, even if he really shouldn’t. Henry sighed, scratching at his head as he went into the hallway, turning the corner and jumping the pipe. However, he paused when he noticed something was off.

The doorway to the Ink Machine’s room was blocked off by wooden boards, from what looks like a hastily done job to get them up. When… did that happen? Was this Joey’s doing? Or was there someone else here?

Approaching with caution, Henry could see through the large gaps in the boards that the machine was indeed on, and it was spitting out globs of ink all over the place. Most fell into the large hole beneath the machine, while the rest splattered about of the floor around the abyss. Some even hit the walls, and a little splattered on the landing Henry had previously had access to when he first arrived.

He remembered way back when he worked in the studio that Joey wanted to make a machine that would help produce cartoons faster, so they could compete with the big names. Henry had told him it would let them produce more cartoons in quicker succession, yes, but it wouldn’t give them quality, it would be terrible. A cartoon done slowly but with more effort would be better to watch. They would have more life in them that way.

Joey had scoffed and said he’d figure out something, all they needed was the right stuff to make it work!

“Is this the right stuff then, Joey?” He mumbled to himself, looking at the mess all around the room, wondering how this even helped produce cartoons. Creating animation, ha! All it was doing was making a damn mess!

The Ink Machine sputtered and seemed to be in a bit of a jam, making Henry look at it with worry, that… didn’t seem like a good sign. The machine struggled, its cogs around the spout were twitching, stuck, before they went into overdrive. They spun quickly as they forced out a giant mass of wet, yet solid, ink with enough force to make the giant contraption swing on its chains.

The large mass of ink went flying and crashed into the shelves and chest sitting on the landing with a loud crash, making Henry step back from the boards. He waited a breath before moving back to look through the barrier to see what that was all about.

Henry looked on with a raised eyebrow, noticing that the lights in the room were flickering. Did the Ink Machine use the majority of the studio’s power to function or something? Not that there was much power here, considering that the emergency lights were on up until Henry flipped the switch.

The old animator stared at the glob of ink, it was huge! He didn’t even know ink could, well, form into a shape like that. Or into a shape at all, it was a liquid, it shouldn’t do what this was lump was doing. It also seemed way too solid to just be ink, considering it broke the shelf and dented the chest.

He gasped in horror as he watched it move, not spreading out like it should have, but move upwards, as if to take a more defined shape. A horrible screeching sound echoed in the room as the lights flickered faster and Henry covered his ears. He hadn’t heard a sound like that since a land mine went off close enough to him to leave him with terrible ringing and temporary deafness in the ears back in the war. It was an experience he had hoped to never deal with again.

He risked looking over at the massive, inky form, seeing that it was wriggling about, still trying to take on a new form. He watched as white splotches appeared from it, forming into what looked like fangs of different sizes around an indent in the ink blob. It took Henry just a moment to realize that this thing just created a mouth, one that looked like something out of a horror movie.

It screamed again, turning its ‘head’ towards his direction and Henry froze up in fear. What… what the hell was this thing?! Was this like that Boris in the other room? Was this some sort of… ink creature?

Oh Joey, what have you been doing these past thirty years…?!

There was another scream, much higher pitched, and sounding like it was in horrible pain. However, it seemed to be coming from some part of the creature, not from its open mouth. Henry saw a large chunk of the inky monstrosity fall to the floor with a hard splat, as if there was something solid in that mess. It began to move, shifting towards the doorway, letting out another scream.

However, this scream… didn’t sound like some sort of unearthly sound like the other creature made. It sounded like it was made by a young person.

But Henry’s attention to the second form was taken away when he noticed that the fangs of the first had started to change, becoming more block-like, sticking together as they started to form into some sort of grin.

A grin that Henry knew all too well from years of animating it.

“I’m gettin’ the hell outta here..!” He shouted, backing up once he noticed the massive form started to move towards the wooden barrier. The second blob of ink, however, moved much faster than its counterpart, and shoved itself through a gap just its size. Henry blinked, seeing it slither past him into the hallway, which was starting to flood with ink from busting pipes.

Henry didn’t stick around to see if it would escape, he was gonna do as he said and get the hell out of there!

And for good measure too, because he risked looking back at the Ink Machine room and the large ink blob was there, the cartoony grin plastered on its face as it swung what looked like a fist out at him. It punched Henry right in the face, knocking him down, stunning him. Henry sat there for a few seconds, a bit out of it from the sudden punch, until he realized that the blob was trying to break through the boards with its new, inky hands.

With that, Henry was up on his feet, trying to run. He noticed that the ink blob, the smaller one, was attempting to get through the ink, but Henry didn’t want to know if it could. He had to get out of here, the studio couldn’t handle this overflow of ink!

The ink was flowing down the walls, fast, darkening the halls and making it hard to see where he was going. Didn’t help that it was greatly slowing him down as it rose higher up his legs. The area to the break room was closed off by the metal gate from before, and parts of the ceiling and walls were breaking from the strain.

He just moved faster, doing his best to move through the heavy, cold liquid. The animator found himself back in the entrance room and thanked his lucky stars that he was so close to the door.

Until he was just a few feet away from the exit, and there was a loud crack under his feet.

Henry gasped as the floor gave out under him and he began to fall, but as he did, he noticed the smaller ink mass had fallen with him. When the boards broke under them, Henry watched in surprise as a cartoony-gloved hand shoved out of the ink, soaked in the stuff, as it reached out towards him.

“W-what t-AH!” The hand slapped over his mouth and he swore he just swallowed ink!

Then there was a loud splash as he and the lump landed into a deep pool of ink. At least it softened the landing, but it still hurt like a bitch. Groaning, Henry sat up, coughing hard. Shit, he tasted ink on his tongue, did he really swallow some, or was it just in his mouth from the landing?

There was a grunt next to him, and he quickly scooted back, staring at the mass of ink that shifted about. It seemed confused and lost, probably not even sure of where it was. As quietly as he could, Henry shifted away from it, over to where a valve was. He grabbed a hold and started to turn it, hopefully it would drain this horrible mess.

And luckily for him, the ink started to recede, and he let out a sigh. However, that blob was still there. It just… sat there, turning what could be its head, before it paused in Henry’s direction. It still had that gloved hand, with four fingers, and… two black buttons. That looked like Bendy’s hand, but why?

This seemed like a stupid move on Henry’s part, but he approached it, kneeling in front of it carefully. “Bendy?” He questioned, and it perked up, giving a little wave with its hand. “Wait, are you really Bendy?”

It nodded.

This… what the hell? Frowning, Henry touched at the ink, pushing at it to wipe it away from what he still thought of as the head. There was so much thick ink, but he managed to push away enough to be able to see some white under it. Carefully, he touched the bit of white, feeling that it was solid. There was, to his surprise, a muffled laugh from what was possibly Bendy.

Henry raised an eyebrow, glancing up towards the hole. So far, nothing was coming down except ink, but not that creature. He guessed he could spare a few minutes to remove all of this excess ink off of… whatever this was.

He continued to wipe down the blob, finding another arm, and ever the signature bow tie. “Can you help me out?” He asked. “There’s a lot of ink and it’s hard to get off.”

He got an OK-hand gesture from one of the hands as it started to wipe at the ink that was on its lower half, helping to reveal a boot. While it worked on that, Henry moved back up to work on the head. Was this really Bendy?

This was… this seemed impossible, how was his cartoon alive? Then again… Boris upstairs… he looked and felt so real, it was terrifying. Even the starting scent of decay was real, mixed with the familiar smell of ink…

What the hell was going on upstairs? Was this Joey’s idea of a joke?

Henry rubbed his hand over the white spot he had cleared up moments ago, revealing more, showing the black that helped make up most of Bendy’s head. Moving upwards, he revealed an eye, pie-cut in design, blinking at him. “Holy shit…” He hissed, staring at the eye in shock and curiosity.

A gloved hand moved up, rubbing at the bottom of the head, revealing a bright, toothy grin. “Hiya Henry!” Came the squeaky, accented voice of Bendy the Dancing Demon.

Henry was embarrassed to admit that he yelped and fell back on his ass when Bendy spoke.

“It’s… it’s really you…” He stammered out, watching as Bendy shook his legs to get rid of any ink that stuck to him. He was, for the most part, cleared of what had stuck to him, but a lot remained on his head.

“Yep! Da one an’ only! It’s been a long time, Henry!” Bendy grinned, putting his hands on his hips as he stared at the creator with his one eye.

“How do you know my name?”

“How do I not?! Yer mah creator! Of course I know yer name! Golly, it’s been… a long, long time since you were here, yeah? How long’s it been?”

Henry swallowed a lump in his throat. “… Thirty years.”

Bendy let out a low whistle. “Welp! Looks like we’ve got some catchin’ up to do, don’t we, bud?” He laughed and approached Henry, holding out a hand to help him up to his feet. “But first… uhh… can ya give me a hand with dis ink? Kinda annoyin’ only havin’ one eye, ya know?”

“Right.” Henry looked down at the Toon, who was still all smile. “How… is this possible? How are you alive?” He asked as he worked on getting ink off of his horns.

The devil just shrugged. “I dunno, black magic, da Ink Machine? You’d have to ask Drew on all dis.” There was a sudden change in tone when he mentioned Joey, like the name left a bitter taste on his tongue, but Henry didn’t question him on it. “But what are you doin’ back here?” Bendy asked, his mood changing to that of curiosity.

“Joey invited me back.” Henry reached into his back pocket, surprised to find that the letter wasn’t damaged or stained. He gave it to Bendy who looked it over, making a face.

“He’s up to somethin’, askin’ ya to come back? Seems… fishy.”

“You’re tellin’ me.” Henry shook his head with a sigh as he started to work on the second eye now. He got the ink off, seeing that the eye was closed, until Bendy opened it. Henry’s own eyes widened at the sight, this was… very off-modeled.

“Uhh… Bendy? What’s with your left eye?” He asked, gesturing to it.

Bendy blinked, reaching up to touch under it. “My eye? What about it?” He looked around, trying to find a reflective surface, but just stared down at the ink puddle under them. He gasped, staring at the two different eyes he had.

His right eye was perfectly normal, looking just as it always did. However, the left was anything but normal.

It was a full oval, with a yellow iris and a pupil. He had no idea what happened! Was it… because of the Ink Machine…? Oh great, if it’s not one thing, it’s another in this place! He sighed loudly and turned back to his human companion. “I dunno what happened, but I’m ppprrrreeeeeetttttyyyyy sure dis has Joey Drew written all over it! Welp, as long as I can see outta it, I think I’ll be a-okay! Besides, kinda makes me look… interestin’, dontcha think? A new look! Sure, the classic is well loved, but sometimes a guy’s gotta update his look for the masses!”

Henry snorted. “Well, at least I know it’s you for sure, your ego is the same as ever.”

“Hey, hey! You’re da one who made me dat way!” Bendy laughed before his smile shrank a little as he glanced around. “We should go… I dunno about you, but I don’t wanna stick around too long. Dat… other thing might find us…” He looked scared as he glanced up at the hole, wringing his hands together.

Glancing back at it, Henry gave a nod. “Let’s find a way outta here, there’s gotta be somethin’ we can use to help us.”

“What about dat?” Bendy pointed towards a shelf, where a tape recorder sat.

Maybe it was another message from Wally, like upstairs? Henry walked over, picking up the tape and pushed play.

_"It's dark and it's cold and it's stuck in behind every single wall now. In some places, I swear this godforsaken ink is clear up to my knees! Who ever thought that these crummy pipes could hold up under this kind of strain either knows something about pressure I don't, or he's some kind of idiot._

_But the real worst part about all this… are them noises the system makes. Like a dying dog on its last legs. Make no mistake, this place... this... machine... heck, this whole darn thing... it just isn't natural._

_You can bet, I won't be doing any more repair jobs for Mister Joey Drew."_

It was Thomas Connor, the repairman and an employee from GENT Corp, a company that helped work on the structure of the studio. Henry remembered him well, the guy made weekly visits because something always got broken in the studio and he was quick to fix it. At least Joey put food on the guy’s table every week with his constant repair work.

“I know dat voice.” Bendy spoke up. “I remember dat guy, he was always angry with Joey, but he was nice to some of us here. He liked Boris cause Boris could help him fix things up if he needed da help!” Henry didn’t want to mention the wolf to Bendy, lest he ruin the chipper mood the demon was suddenly in.

“Do you know if he still works here?”

Bendy shook his head. “I don’t think he does. Actually… I dunno who even is still here. My head… feels kinda cloudy, I don’t even know why I was even in da Ink Machine in da first place! Once I was taken outta there, I never wanted to go back!”

“Well, maybe we’ll find out as we keep going. Guess our only option is to find a new exit cause we can’t get back upstairs with that hole. And with that _thing_ up there. Do you know what it even is?”

“Nope, not a clue. But there’s lotsa exits here!” Bendy grinned. “I know there’s one over by da music department! We can try there!”

“And where is that?” Henry asked, already walking off to a stairwell.

Bendy was quick to follow after him. “Just down these steps. Dont'cha remember where it is?”

Henry frowned, scratching at his head. “I… thought I did. I don’t know, looks like a lot has changed. I don’t remember this area, then again, Joey had always talked about expanding the building for new things. He was spontaneous like that.”

“Still is.” The Toon huffed, finding another flooded room. Turning more valves drained the ink and they continued on to another level in the basement. Bendy and Henry noticed a blocked off door, along with writing on the wall.

**THE CREATOR LIED TO US**

The animator felt a shiver run up his spine at the words, and before he could ask Bendy what that meant, he noticed something on the wall. It was a fire axe. “This will definitely come in handy.” He said as he picked it up off the wall, wondering why it was even here.

But then again, all this ink and old wood… this place was a good example of a fire hazard. “Ready?” He asked, looking at his companion.

Bendy turned, giving him a thumbs up. “Yep! Da music department is beyond dat door, gotta go through some halls an’ stuff, but dat shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Right.” Henry nodded before approaching the blocked off door, swinging the axe to slice through the old wood. The boards broke easily and soon they were in a new hall. This one had a lot of fallen planks of wood, which Henry just cut through, with Bendy close behind him, pushing boards aside to help.

They came up to one last door and Bendy looked tense, scared. “Henry… I don’t feel well…”

“What’s the matter?” The animator asked, looking at Bendy with concern.

“There’s… somethin’ beyond dat door… we gotta find a different way!” He grabbed Henry’s hand, trying to turn them around, but the building started to shake. There was a loud rumble and crash, the hall they just came from appeared to have caved in. “Oh… raspberries!” Bendy hissed through his teeth before looking at the door.

“What’s beyond it?” Henry asked him, seeing the fear in those mis-matched eyes.

“I… dunno, but I’ve got a bad feelin’ in mah ink about it…”

“Only one way to fine out.” Henry sliced through the boards, ignoring Bendy’s worried whines. He turned the knob, suddenly feeling the building shake again. They had to keep moving, sounds like the ink was making things cave in again. He didn’t want to be crushed to death, that’s for sure, and Bendy didn’t need to die either.

Opening the door revealed a sight that Henry was not expecting.

Coffins lined the back wall, an ink-drawn pentagram was on the floor, and there were candles that illuminated the room. Henry unconsciously walked into the room, not hearing Bendy’s shouts for him to stop, until he stepped on the pentagram.

It suddenly felt like his head was burning from the inside out, he was frozen as images flashed before his eyes. The machine, a wheelchair, and a strange looking being with a familiar smile, before there was a sudden, sharp pain to the back of his head. As his head pounded from the sudden pain, as if he was struck, his right eye began to twitch.

As he dropped to the floor, he heard Bendy let out a terrified shout of his name, and he knew no more.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve got big things planned for this story!
> 
> Thanks for reading, please comment and kudos!
> 
> EDIT: Changed up the ink blob!Bendy scene to fit with the new Ink Machine Room, even so far as giving it new art. The old art still lives on my tumblr in my art tag, haha.


	2. Can I get an Amen? Amen. Henry Doesn't Know a Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bendy and Henry find themselves back in the old music department, but so much has changed from what they originally remember of it. Who is that mysterious figure that speaks softly as they wander the halls, and what are those inky abominations?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the comments and kudos!
> 
> Check it out! I added in illustrations! All art is done by me, unless if I add art done by someone else, then I will correctly credit them.
> 
> On with the fic!
> 
> EDIT: I updated the chapter title to a more fitting song.

If it wasn’t for the smell of ink, and the distant-sounding, squeaky voice of Bendy, calling his name, Henry would have thought that the pain in the back of his head and the ringing in his ears meant he was back on the warfront.

“Oh… my head… what happened?” Henry groaned, carefully rolling onto his side. The ringing eased up enough for him to hear Bendy happily thank the stars that the human was alright.

“Ya stepped into da pentagram like a dang fool! Dat’s what happened!” Bendy glowered when Henry turned his attention to him. “Scared da bajezzus outta me! Yer gonna make mah ink turn white if ya do somethin’ like dat again!”

Henry blinked, rubbing at the back of his head, looking at his hand to find specks of dry blood and ink on it. “Did somethin’ hit me?”

Bendy pointed up to where a few, small chunks of the ceiling were missing. “When ya stepped in da circle… the room really started shakin’. You made all these weird… sounds, like you were chokin’ on somethin’! An’ then parts of da ceilin’ started fallen, I tried to warn ya, but it was too late! An’ then I got hit an’ passed out wit’ ya on da circle.” He pointed to the inked pentagram they were both sitting on.

Henry didn’t like that they both had fallen on it, nor did he like that the candles were still burning. He noticed a small bit of blood that had dried on the floor, probably from the small gash on his head, mixed with some fresh ink. He poked at his head injury, it stung, but it wasn’t deep, and the blood was dried. How long were they out?

The Toon watched him, frowning as he saw the injury. “You… gonna be okay? I know you humans are more fragile than us toons. I mean, I survived bein’ ran over by a demonic taxi before, but I doubt you could!”

The animator paused, frowning. “What? When did you get run over? That sounds too violent for one of your cartoons.”

“Well…” Bendy looked at him with mix-matched eyes. “Ya see, after ya left… Drew decided to take the cartoon into new areas, a lot of ‘em weren’t great.”

Henry frowned and moved to stand, helping Bendy up. He glanced around, noticing that his axe was resting gently against one of the coffins. Had Bendy placed it there? He also looked over at the door they came in from, seeing that it was blocked off by fallen debris. “We need to find a new way out.”

“There’s a way, over there.” The demon pointed to a door near the coffins. “We can use dat, it should go to da music department.”

“We can try.” He picked up the axe and broke the boards that were blocking the door. Bendy grabbed onto an offered hand, following Henry into the next area, a stairwell.

“So, what area of themes and ideas did Joey try? To be honest, I had trouble watchin’ the cartoons after I left, too many memories. Plus, I heard the quality went down, and when I was in the war, the only cartoons I ever got to see were Disney and Looney Tunes.” Bendy made a face at the mention of those, to which Henry smirked a little, but it died when he noticed the bothered look that crossed the demon’s face as he stopped.

“… Joey wanted to compete wit’ those other cartoon companies.” Bendy glared, staring at the stairs. “Said bein’ cute an’ silly wasn’t gonna get us as far as we could go, especially compared to da likes of Disney an’ his Silly Symphonies. Silly Vision just didn’t have da right stuff, I guess. So, he tried new things, a lot of ‘em endin’ up with me comin’ off as weak an’ getting’ hurt. Alice an’ Boris turned into big jerks an’ I wasn’t da li’l Devil Darlin’ much anymore.”

He looked up at Henry. “I like your cartoons better.”

Henry removed his hand from Bendy’s, placing it on his head to give him a gentle pat between the horns. “I don’t blame you, Joey had no right to change up your cartoon like that. You’re meant to be happy and havin’ fun adventures, not gettin’ the short end of the stick.”

Bendy smiled sadly at him. “Henry, did ya ever wanna co-” A sudden, loud bang stopped Bendy mid-question. They looked to the bottom of the stairs, seeing that a chunk of the ceiling had fallen down. “We should keep goin’.”

“Yeah…” Henry took the cartoon’s hand again, walking down the steps, before seeing a strange sight. It looked like an altar of some sort, with candles lit, a Bendy sticker on the wall, bowls of something weird and lumpy, and the words **HE WILL SET US FREE** were written on the wall in ink. A lone banjo sat by the display.

“What… the heck is this?” The animator hissed through his teeth, feeling the cold sense of dread from before return with a vengeance. “Bendy, do you know?”

Bendy shook his head, looking just as uncomfortable as his creator. “I dunno! I-I don’t remember much of da studio, but I feel like I _should_ know what dat is. It’s… weird, like, a lot of my mind is coated in, hahaha, ink or somethin’! Maybe me bein’ in da Ink Machine caused my memories to be all screwy?”

“Possibly? I don’t know, I don’t even know what the Ink Machine truly is for.” Henry looked around the room, seeing two more coffins, and some machinery. He also noticed something sitting on a shelf, a tape recorder.

Quickly, Henry approached it, picking it up. He saw a label on it, with a familiar name from years ago. “Sammy?” He asked softly. He remembered the musician clearly, Sammy Lawrence was a talented man in the art of music and could play many different instruments. He was prim, proper, and had long, blond hair he always kept pulled back in a ponytail. Actually, his hair was a pride of his, he was very vain and stubborn, but he could be nice if he liked you.

Henry never had a problem with the guy, if anything, they were on good terms. Often, Sammy liked to speak with Henry whenever Joey was giving him problems, and Henry was happy to be a soundboard for Sammy to loudly vent to, especially when he knew Joey was within earshot.

He pushed play on the tape, hearing the musician’s voice, but there was something… wrong with it.

_"He appears from the shadows to rain his sweet blessings upon me. The figure of ink that shines in the darkness. I see you, my savior. I pray you hear me._

_Those old songs, yes, I still sing them. For I know you are coming to save me. And I will be swept into your final loving embrace._

_But, love requires sacrifice. Can I get an amen?"_

“I said… can I get an amen?”

Henry and Bendy turned sharply and stared behind themselves, seeing nothing there. “Y-you heard that voice as well, right?” Henry whispered, seeing Bendy rapidly nod his head, yes. It sounded like Sammy, but… unlike the tape, that was old and had some sound issues, this came out crystal clear.

As if it was spoken right behind them, right by their ears.

“Henry…” Bendy squeaked. “Was dat…?”

“I don’t know, bud. Do you remember him?”

“Only somewhat. As I said, mah memories are all splotched up. But I remember Sammy bein’ all stubborn an’ a workaholic! An’ then… I remember…” Bendy looked concerned, recalling a memory of Sammy, part of him coated in ink, from a busted pipe probably, but there was this look in his eyes. This strange, excited look, as he stared at Bendy.

The color of his eyes was wrong. Bendy can’t see color, he’s a black and white cartoon. The only colors he could see were the strange sepia shades the studio took on… but Sammy’s eyes were a bright, unnatural yellow.

Bendy knew they weren’t that color originally, something in his ink told him that Sammy never had yellow eyes.

“I remember somethin’ really off about him, like… he had a crazy look in his eyes! He used to say weird things, about writin’ up songs to appease me! Kept a lot of da cutouts of me in da recordin’ area…”

A frown crossed Henry’s face. “That doesn’t sound like him. But… let’s worry about that later, okay? We gotta find an exit.” He turned, moving to go down a small hallway, stopping at the sight of a Bendy cutout, resting against a pentagram. “Okay, that’s creepy.”

“Hey!” Bendy pouted. “I ain’t creepy, I’m adorable!”

“The pentagram, not the cutout.” The human rolled his eyes, approaching it. “It’s another altar.”

“Think Sammy put ‘em up?”

“… I’d rather not think about that. I don’t think he’d do this, he wasn’t religious in the slightest, had no sense of belief outside of the belief that he was gonna strangle Joey one day.”

A laugh escaped from Bendy at this as they moved away from the cutout, only to come across a hallway full of ink. Bendy looked nervous about it, so Henry scooped him up, surprised to find that Bendy wasn’t really all that heavy. It was like picking up a stack of paper, heh, ironic in some way. “Hold on, kid.” Henry said as he stepped into the ink, shuddering at the cold feeling of it going up to his calves. His pants were already ruined from when he was running upstairs and from the fall, so this wasn’t the worst to happen.

As he carefully trudged through the ink, wondering how they even had this much in the studio, he and Bendy perked up at the faint sound of someone talking. “E-Excuse me..! Can you help us?!” Henry called out as someone came into view, and he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the figure.

They were black as night, as if they had been soaked in the ink here, with something strange wrapped around their head. They were wearing what looked like pants, while carrying a Bendy cutout.

They were quietly mumbling something, what sounded like a song, before they moved out of sight. Henry’s legs kicked into high gear as he chased after the man, only to find… nothing.

There was no sign of the figure, just another cutout on a pentagram, an altar, and a shelf full of many cans of something. “Where the hell did he go?” Henry frowned, glancing around. Bendy shrugged before jumping down, grabbing a can from the shelf to look over.

“Here, drink it.” He held up the can, which Henry took and looked at. It was Briar Label Bacon Soup, with a happy image of Bendy on it. Oh God, Henry knew what this was. He saw a few cans upstairs but didn’t pay them much attention. He did, however, know all about this product.

It had started as a joke, way back when the studio first started getting attention for the Bendy shorts. Henry had joked in passing that they should make some sorta product that people would buy senselessly because it had the li’l devil on it.

He laughed, saying it should be bacon soup, combining his favorite food, bacon, with Joey’s, vegetable soup.

Joey actually went out and made the joke a reality and Henry was so embarrassed. It’s… not a bad soup, but it really could have been better. It was fine on its own, but it needed more flavor, so if Henry ever cooked it up in the break room, he always put a lot of spices in it. Joey called him a fiend for ruining his idea.

‘Oh, how the tables have turned…’ Henry thought with a bitter bite to his words, glancing over at the cutout. Yeah, take Henry’s creation and studio, turn it into some sorta inky demonic cult and screaming, wooden death trap. Great idea, Joey! Just brilliant!

“Why do I have to drink it?” Henry asked, looking down at his companion.

“I dunno, maybe you’ll get some sorta energy boost from it, or somethin’. You’re an old man, don’cha need yer vitamins an’ nutrients?” Bendy smirked as he picked up another can. “I’ll even have some wit’ ya, how’s dat sound?”

“I have a feelin’ this will make me sick, and I’m not that old. I’m fifty-five, you li’l punk. And don’t start, I made your first design when I was fifteen, long before the shorts, you’re forty.”

Bendy snorted. “An’ yet, who here is flawless an’ hasn’t aged a day?” His widow’s peek moved like a wagging eyebrow and Henry rolled his eyes, taking the swiss army knife he had from his pocket. He punctured a hole in his can and then in Bendy’s.

“Bottoms up…” He mumbled before taking a drink.

Hm. Shockingly, it actually tasted better after having aged thirty years. It wasn’t gross or chunky, it was just… flavored broth at this point. Henry had to wonder if the veggies and bacon just broke down and mixed with the broth. Hm, could probably resell this as some sorta flavoring for other dishes, but it’s not bad. Plus, it was nice to have something in his stomach, he hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, and from what Henry’s watch said, that was about six hours ago.

Jeez, how long had he been knocked out for? He sure hoped he didn’t have a concussion.

Bendy drank his down quickly, which was an interesting sight, seeing as he had no neck, but Henry clearly heard the loud gulps. Where did it go? The demon licked his lips and tossed the can aside. “Hey, dat ain’t half-bad! Maybe I should be fine wit’ havin’ mah beautiful face plastered on all dem cans after all!”

“You’re gonna get a swelled head just from talkin’ about yourself.” Henry smirked before finishing off his own can, moving to toss it in a nearby trash can. He stopped, noticing something on the wall. “What the heck is this?”

“Looks like a switch.” Bendy spoke as he approached, glancing at the closed gate in front of them. “Gotta maybe find some way to activate it?” He questioned as he pulled down on the handle, with no effect. He then noticed the three lights on the panel, none of which were lit up.

The demon thought, before he grinned. For a split second, Henry watched in surprise as a bright light appeared over Bendy’s head, like a lightbulb turning on, before it quickly went out as he ran over to the shelf full of cans. “Check this out!” He pushed at something out of Henry’s line of sight, and a light on the control panel for the door lit up.

“What did you do?” The animator asked, approaching. He saw what it was that Bendy pushed, a button. “Looks like we need to find two more of those, yeah?”

“I think I saw them back there.” Bendy pointed towards the inky hall. “Where we found the tape!”

Just before the two of them were going to go look for the other buttons, they finally took notice to something else in the hall. Tucked away in a large space in the wall across from the grated door was a large, stone statue of Bendy, covered on cobwebs and dust. Bendy and Henry looked another one another, deciding that… yeah, should they even bother questioning this?

Quickly, the two made it to the previous area, looking everywhere for the switches. Bendy found one over by the tape, but the third took a few minutes. Henry eventually found it by the first pentagram and cutout, lifting Bendy to push it, since, embarrassingly, they were both too short to do it without working together.

As they walked back, Henry asked Bendy what that light above his head had been. Bendy explained simply that it’s a toon thing! Like how his head floats above his shoulders, seeing as he was designed without a neck. “Why don’t I have one?” He asked after he gave it some thought for a second.

“Creative design to make you stand out.” Henry replied as he pulled the switch. The gate started to rise, making the floor shake a little. Just as it finished rising, the two heard what sounded like a pained moan. Both paused, looking at one another, before deciding not to question it, it… was probably for the best.

Henry cut a few fallen boards out of the way, along with what was blocking the doorway to the next room and was shocked to see that it was the music department. He… he remembered it being underground, yes, but it wasn’t this far down, nor was it… well… “How’d this place get so big?” He asked aloud as he stepped into the lobby of the department.

He remembered the sign for it, and he remembered it being pretty decent in size, but for some reason it looked so much bigger right now. There was ink splattered about on the floor, and posters were on the walls. He saw one for the first Alice Angel short, _Sent from Above_ , along with a Bendy short, _Train Troubles_. By that poster, Henry noticed a doorway.

“Dat’s da exit!” Bendy grinned, he remembered that! Though he wasn’t going to voice to Henry how, well… like the animator, he didn’t remember the music department looking like this. He wasn’t happy that something was wrong with his memories, but he did remember bits and pieces.

He remembered Alice, him, and Boris all sneaking in after hours to play with the instruments while Norman Polk sat up in the projection booth, playing clips of the show with no audio. This way the toons could play their own music and do their own silly voice work instead of what was scripted for them.

He also remembered… a woman being in the recording booth sometimes, but he couldn’t remember her face. He remembered her long hair, and how she sounded like Alice, but that was about it.

There was Sammy, just bits and pieces of thoughts of him. And faintly, he remembered Joey watching him from one of the booths, as he helped play some of the music with Sammy.

He shook his head, running over to the exit, only to pout. “Ah son of a bee sting! It’s flooded!” He sighed, about to apologize to Henry when he heard faint talking. Turning his head around, Bendy looked at Henry, who was holding up a tape recorder, someone was speaking.

“It’s Sammy.” He said when it finished. “From what he says, to drain the ink, you gotta use a switch installed in his office, but I’m guessing it’s behind the gate over there.” He gestured to another gated off area. “Maybe we can get it to open somehow?”

Bendy nodded. “There’s a switch in here! Let me pull it!” He shouted as he reached up and grabbed a hold of the handle, pulling it. Henry watched as the room started to brighten from the actual lights, not the emergency lights that seemed to keep the building somewhat illuminated. Henry smiled a little, turning to Bendy, about to thank him, when there was a loud moan from the floor.

At first, Henry thought that the floor was about to give out, but no, it was something much worse. The puddle he stood next to began to shift and rise, taking on a strange, human-esque shape.

“Henry!” Bendy screamed, seeing the thing rise as well.

Two more formed from different puddles, moving towards the old man, who kicked at the one closest to him, backing away. “What the hell are these?!”

“I don’t know! But they sound angry…!” Bendy tried to run over to him, but another creature popped up and started to rush towards him. “What do we do!?”

“We fight!” Henry shouted, swinging his axe, striking the one he had kicked. He sliced right through its head, and watched in horror as the body quivered, then popped like a bubble. The remains slipped into the cracked in the floorboards. The other creatures only paused to watch for a moment, before continuing their advance.

Henry cursed under his breath, another had come up near the gate, moving closer to him. As he moved to attack this one, he hissed sharply as one of the ink things scratched at him, that actually hurt! He didn’t think something made of ink could do him damage, but then again, Henry didn’t know what to think when it came to anything in the studio.

“Henry!” Bendy shouted as he tried to avoid being struck himself. Shit, the devil was weaponless, and Henry couldn’t get to him right away, he was busy with his own mess of monsters right now!

“Bendy, get on top of a barrel, don’t let them attack! I’ve got this!” Henry yelled as he swung his axe again, killing his second creature. Bendy only nodded, scurrying quickly to get on top of a barrel near the sign for the music department.

He watched, scared as his human companion took on the creatures on his own. Damnit, he wished he could help, but he was never good at fighting in the cartoons…! And he had no weapon on hand…

A few more swings and dodges of attacks, and Henry was splattered in ink, panting hard as he watched the last one slip into the floor. “I… I think that’s all of them…” He gave Bendy a shaky grin, watching as the little demon rushed over to him, hugging onto Henry when he dropped to his knees to take a breather. “Are you alright?”

“Am I alright?! Ya seriously askin’ me dat when I just watched my fifty-five-year ol’ creator take on a bunch of things he ain’t got any clue about?! I should be askin’ _you_ dat! Are _you_ okay?!”

Henry let out a breathless laugh, pulling Bendy closer. “I’m fine, not the worst fight I’ve been in, but that still hurt. Sucker got me right in the hip, uhg. Hit the hip that took a beatin’ in the war too, asshole.”

Bendy frowned, looking a bit worried, before his mis-matched eyes widened when another creature rose up behind Henry. “Look out!” He yelled as he shoved Henry away, moving on pure impulse as he reached out, putting a hand on the creature to push it back. That should give Henry enough time to grab his axe and kill it, right?

However, Bendy froze as he watched the ink shake and jiggle like jello, before it exploded.

Not popping like the others from before, this one erupted in a splatter of ink. Bendy stood there, staring at the black mess, not even hearing the old, jaunty music kicking in as the gate to the blocked off area rose up, the lights getting brighter.

He was completely focused on his gloved hand, at the mess of disappearing ink from the being he had just killed with a single touch.

What… had he just done?

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bendy has a power in this! He can one-hit-kill enemies, like a certain demon that wanders the halls.
> 
> There’s more to him than just that though, there’s a reason for his odd eye.
> 
> Sorry to cut it off there, needed a cliffhanger and I wanted to split Chapter Two into two or three chapters, makes the story longer, there’s a lot I want to explore with these two that I can condense into just long chapters centered solely on each of the chapters released so far. I like some substance to a story, so this might be a bit of a long fanfic in terms of chapters. 
> 
> You probably have some questions, like Bendy’s memories and such, there is a reason for why he can’t remember much outside of bits and pieces. It has to do with the Ink Machine and his counterpart, but I’ll reveal what is going on with that throughout the story. You can ask me to explain some stuff, but I might be vague, so just a heads up on that.
> 
> Also, I know there isn’t a barrel by the sign for the music department for Bendy to get on top of, but… I had already drawn the scene and I refused to change the drawing. Also, who cares. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, remember to comment and kudos!


	3. Emerging from the Darkness, I Pray You'll Hear Me, "Bendy"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems that being in the Ink Machine has given Bendy a strange, new ability that isn’t anything like what the Toon could do before. But with this newfound ability, it looks like Bendy and Henry have an easier chance of escaping the studio by draining the exit.
> 
> … Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are with chapter three, the continuation of Chapter Two! 
> 
> Sorry, I rushed the art for this one, I wanted to get it up tonight before I had to go to bed cause I've got work in the morning.
> 
> By the way, I dunno if anyone has noticed this, but all the chapter titles are lyrics from Bendy fan songs.
> 
> UPDATE: I included the stuff from updated Chapter Two into this, by which I mean the stuff with Jack Fain and Sammy's sanctuary.
> 
> On with the fic!

“Bendy? Bendy, can you hear me?!” Henry asked, snapping his fingers in front of Bendy’s face. The demon had been frozen in place since he touched that ink creature, causing it to die, and the look that slowly overcame Bendy’s face was upsetting. He looked terrified and confused, like he had never known he could do such a thing, which was probably true. Nothing Henry did could get Bendy to snap out of this state he was in.

Until Henry flicked him between the eyes, getting a small yelp from the Toon. “Bendy, are you okay?” He asked, looking at Bendy with concern.

“I…” Bendy blinked, frowning deeply as he stared at his hand again. “I’ve… never done anythin’ like dat before… I’m not suppose to just, well, do anythin’ like dat! I don’t fight, or at least not in dat sorta way! What did I do?!”

Henry frowned, placing a hand on Bendy’s arm, but it was slapped away. “Don’t touch me!”

“Stop it.” The animator frowned. “Calm down, you’re not gonna do anythin’ to me if I touch you.”

“But what if I do?!” He gasped when Henry grabbed his hand quickly, holding it tightly. “No…!”

They both looked at their hands, and yet… nothing happened. It was silent in the lobby, outside of the faint sound of ink dripping somewhere. Bendy frowned, confused, before looking up at Henry. “You’re not dead.”

“Damn right I’m not. I don’t think you can kill me with a touch, Bendy. I don’t know what you did before, but maybe it only works on ink creatures. If they come back, we’ll have to try it out again to see.”

“But I don’t wanna!”

“I know you don’t but think about it… it could be helpful if you can also fight along side me. I’m, as you put it, old. I’m not as good at fighting as I use to be, and I could use all the help I can get until we get out of here.”

Bendy frowned still but gave this thought for a moment. Henry had a point, he got worn out pretty quickly during that little fight, and maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to help fight to keep Henry alive while they were still here.

Wait… now that he thought about it, the human has mentioned it a few times that the two of them were gonna leave. He never just referred to himself, he said ‘we’. “Henry, I’ve got a question.” Bendy spoke up as Henry grabbed his axe before moving to stand.

“What is it?” He asked, looking down at his companion.

“You keep sayin’ ‘we’ when ya talk about findin’ da exit. Are you… wantin’ me to come out wit’ ya? To… leave da studio?” The demon pointed towards the exit. Sure, his memories were a mess right now, but Bendy knew he had always wanted to see what was beyond the walls of the studio. He was never allowed to leave, and he wanted to see what was out there, of the world that the employees of the studio got to see every time they went home.

Henry paused. He… had referred to both himself and Bendy whenever he spoke of finding the exit, hadn’t he?

Sure, he’s only known Bendy for such a short time, but… seeing as this place was falling apart, there were monsters down here and upstairs, and someone or something had dissected Boris… Henry didn’t have the heart to just leave the poor imp to the horrors of Joey Drew Studio.

If it’s possible, well, he’d gladly take Bendy with him. After all, Bendy was his creation, his favorite creation actually, and he isn’t going to just leave him behind to Joey’s mercy. Not for a second time.

“I’ll take you out of here with me. I don’t like the idea of you being here, it’s falling apart and full of… God only knows what those monsters were. I’d rather injure my leg again than have you stay here and get killed.”

Bendy looked up at him, his eyes widening. It was a strange sight to see, his normal eye was huge and had a twinkle to it, but his yellow eye acted more like a human’s would. “Y-you mean it?! You’d take me wit’ ya?!”

Henry smiled a little, patting him between the horns. “Sure, kid, you can come with me.”

“Yer da best, Henry!” He was quick to suddenly get into the human’s arms, almost knocking him over. “I could kiss ya right now! In fact, I think I will!”

The animator did not have enough time to prepared himself for the big, cartoony kiss on his cheek, completely with the long ‘mmm’ sound and the wet, loud pop when Bendy pulled away. Henry pulled a face and reached up, rubbing at his wet cheek. “Really? Did you have to do that?”

Bendy snickered, looking rather proud. “Ya should have expected dat, ol’ man! You animated me doin’ it in mah show before!”

“Yeah, yeah…” He rolled his eyes, setting Bendy down. “Alright, we gotta figure out what to do with the ink.”

“Da tape said Sammy had a pump, right? In his office?”

Henry nodded, glancing at the area that had just opened up. “Looks like we can try in there.” He turned, heading for the office.

The gate had opened to reveal a hallway, with a window at the end that revealed an office, a Bendy cutout stood outside with its ever-present grin. At least this one didn’t have a pentagram, so it was slightly less creepy. Henry motioned for Bendy to follow him, passing by a large decal of Bendy, happily holding an umbrella while in an inky rain storm. He remembered that, it was a cute design he had done, didn’t know it was used as a decoration piece.

“What’s in here?” Bendy asked, opening a door, before gleefully going inside. “An organ! I wonder if it still plays!” He pushed on a few keys, hearing a rather unpleasant sound from the pipes.

“Heh, I think the pipes might need a good clea-” Henry tensed when there was a loud, yet muffled, moan from somewhere in the room, behind the walls. The two slammed the door closed behind them, deciding not to investigate the organ.

The next area revealed the infirmary, but it was flooded with ink, so they decided to leave that be. A new room showed a small work space, where Bendy had laughed at a set of facial concept art of himself. There were four drawings of his head, with four different expressions written under them, yet all the faces were the same one, just like the cutouts’ smiles. There was even an old note, ‘Do not let Joey see this’.

“He really liked using one face for you, didn’t he?” Henry scoffed, looking at the pictures that had Bendy giggling up a storm.

“You have no idea, bud.”

They left the room, coming up to the end of the hall. There was the windowed office, obviously Sammy’s, but the door was blocked by two sprays of ink, coming from busted pipes. The steps leading down to the door was flooded with the heavy stream of ink. There was also a locked closet, and a punch card machine. He saw one of those when he was upstairs, remembering the machine well, something he saw every day he came in for work.

Jokingly, Henry approached and put in a card before he activated the machine, hearing it ding. “Punchin’ in.” He said to himself as Bendy looked at him curiously. “Anyway, how do you think we can get in? I can see the pump in the office, but that leak isn’t helpin’ us one bit.”

“Do ya think dat can help us?” Bendy pointed up at a small shelf, where another tape recorder sat.

Grabbing it from the shelf, Henry clicked play. The voice this time was that of Wally Franks, the janitor. Henry felt a small wave of sad nostalgia wash over him, thinking back on the chubby, curly-haired janitor, one of the friendliest guys you’d ever meet. He had heard his voice upstairs but didn’t give it much thought when he played the tape, at the time, Henry had been rather annoyed with Joey’s lack of appearance to greet him. He hadn’t been focused on Wally’s voice, but he did somewhat pay attention to the fact that the items that he needed to collect were totems to ‘appease the gods’.

But now, as he listened to the voice, it reminded Henry of just how much he missed his friends here at the studio.

Wally was always up for chatting and liked to play card games with Henry. When Thomas was too busy with other jobs, or doing some big fixes in the studio, Wally was quick to fix the smaller problems. He also had a terrible habit of misplacing his keys, which Henry heard him mention in the tape.

“Looks like we gotta find the keys.” Henry spoke as he set the tape recorder back on the shelf, looking down at the demon to see a curious expression on his face. “What?”

“Do ya know dat guy?” Bendy asked. “You had a sad smile on yer face while he was talkin’. A friend of yours?”

Henry gave a nod, sighing. “Yeah, he was a friend of mine from back in the day. One of the younger staff members, a few years younger than me when he started. God, I think he was in high school when we hired him for a summer job, and he just stuck around. Do you remember him?”

Bendy shook his head. “Never heard dat voice before, I don’t… know him. What’s his name?”

“Wally Franks. Hm, if you don’t know him, you either don’t remember or he finally did do what he always said and got outta here.”

The Toon only nodded his head. “Well, let’s go look for dem keys! I’m sure they’ve gotta be in one of da trash cans, like Wally said!”

Henry doubted that, there’s no way that the keys were left in a garbage for thirty years. Following the imp, they looked in the previous office, seeing no keys in the trash. There could be other trash cans around the area, so they decided to do that. But just as they walked towards the entrance to the lobby, there was a splashing sound behind them, then a moan.

“Shit!” Henry completely forgot about those things! The creature moved out of the hallway and wandered towards them, searching for them. “Bendy, touch it!”

Bendy looked at him, unsure, before he reached out, tapping the tip of his finger against the thing’s forehead. Like before, it popped and turned into a rapidly disappearing bubble. Bendy frowned, sighing. “Welp, I guess this is somethin’ I can do. But if it helps us get rid of those ugly mugs, then I’ll just keep givin’ ‘em mah special touch!”

“You adjusted to this new ability pretty quickly.”

“If it keeps ya safe, Henry, I’ll deal wit’ it.” Bendy replied, giving him a smile before he turned his head around. “Hey! Let’s check dis place!” He pointed to a door and opened it right up. “Henry! Ya gotta come see dis!”

Henry blinked, walking into the room, surprised to see it was the recording studio for the music department. This was… way bigger than he remembered it being! There was a scattering of instruments around the room, along with nine chairs. He found another gated area, and noticed a recording booth for a singer, or a voice actor.

Right before he left, they were just beginning to explore what more they could do with voice acting, they had already tried it out with one-shot characters and such, but not with main characters like Bendy and Boris. Hell, Henry had actually been assigned to do the Bendy animation for a short with Alice Angel, a new character Joey had created.

She was meant to be Bendy’s love interest and the first main female character. Henry wasn’t sure on the love interest thing, he didn’t want her just being like almost every other main female character in animation at the time, if anything, he’d rather her be like Betty Bopp. That way, she’d be her own character, could do her own things without Bendy being there as her knight in shiny, black armor.

Joey rejected the idea quickly, saying no one would like it, and Betty was still seen as a foil for Bimbo anyway.

Henry never liked how much hatred Joey had for the rival studios’ characters, Henry always appreciated them. Joey was a very jealous person and didn’t like competition.

When they started work on the first Alice Angel short, Henry was beginning work on Bendy’s scenes, but was quickly removed from the project when he was fired. Joey wouldn’t even let him finish the scene he was working on, so, out of spite, Henry never watched the short. Hell, he’s never watched an Alice Angel short in his life, his bitter feelings over being fired for circumstances he had no control over were strong.

It was pathetic to be so petty but thinking about the _Sent from Above_ short always left Henry feeling terrible, he never finished his work, he was fired while it was in production… he just hoped who ever took over for him did a good job with animating the devil darlin’.

“Found ‘em!” Bendy’s cheerful voice cut Henry’s thoughts off as he looked towards the demon, who happily held up a set of keys. Well, shit, Wally really did lose them. “I also found dat, over there!”

Henry looked to where Bendy was pointing towards, seeing a tape recorder. God damn, why were there so many of these? Walking over, Henry looked at it, seeing the name ‘Susie Campbell’ written on it in cursive. He… sort of recalled the name, he knew she was a voice actress they hired for when they started doing voiced cartoons, but he didn’t remember much of her.

He just knew that she had a sweet voice and smile but was rather… emotional.

_"It may only be my second month working for Joey Drew, but I can already tell I'm gonna love it here! People really seem to enjoy my Alice Angel voice. Sammy says she may be as popular as Bendy someday._

_These past few weeks I have voiced everything from talking chairs to dancing chickens. But this is the first character I really felt a connection with. Like she's a part of me._

_Alice and I, we are going places."_

The soft, happy voice echoed in the room as Henry and Bendy listened, and when it ended, Henry looked at the Toon. “I don’t remember much of her, she was brand new to the studio when I was still here. I barely saw her, and she never even spoke to me except when Joey introduced her to me. Did you know her?”

Bendy shook his head. “I don’t know, she… seems nice, kinda sounds like Alice, but… not really.” He scratched his head with the key, before remembering he had it, laughing. “Oh, right! We gotta use dis!”

“Yeah, let’s go take care of that task first. Hopefully we’ll get a clue or somethin’ from this. Feels like the keys are important…” Henry replied as he walked towards the door back to the lobby. However, he stopped when he felt like someone was looking at him.

Turning, Henry looked up towards the projectionist’s booth, seeing nothing there, but there was something in a window next to it. A Bendy cutout was staring down at them, with its big grin in place. He shivered a little and quickly picked up the pace, following after Bendy who was already out of the room.

Going back down to hall, the duo figured out the keys opened the closet by Sammy’s office. Inside they found more cans of bacon soup, but another tape recorder. This one belonged to Sammy, but in a state of mind that seemed between the tape found in the lobby, where he sounded just like he normally did, and the first one they found, the one that was… off-putting.

_"Every artistic person needs a sanctuary. Joey Drew has his and I've got mine. To enter, you need only know my favorite song._

_The banjo playfully clucks._

_The bass fiddle sings with deep articulation._

_The piano delicately calls._

_The violin shudders with a piercing voice._

_Sing my song and my sanctuary will open to you."_

The tape ended and the two stood in silence. “What does that mean?” Henry asked aloud, more confused than ever. “What the hell is this sanctuary he’s talkin’ about?”

Bendy tapped his hand under his chin, before the light returned, just like before, as he snapped his fingers, grinning. “It’s a puzzle! We gotta solve his puzzle to open his sanctuary! An’ I bet it’s dat gated room in da music room! I bet if we play his instruments in da order he listed, we can open it!”

Henry looked at him, before a smile came to his own lips. “You know what, I think you’re right. Sammy was a strange man who did like to do elaborate things, so that’s gotta be it.”

Quickly, they ran back to the music room, deciding that Henry would pluck the banjo and violin while Bendy handled the bass and the piano. They went in order that Sammy had listed, however… nothing happened.

“We played them, right? In the correct order?” Henry frowned, tilting his head.

“We did, but it didn’t work!” Bendy huffed, looking around the room, seeing if there was something in there that could provide a clue. He heard a soft tapping, catching his attention. Looking up, Bendy was surprised to see the cutout that Henry had noticed, staring down at him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when it tilted towards its left and knocked against the wall that divided the viewing room from the projectionist’s booth.

For some reason, Bendy felt like that cardboard copy of himself was hinting to something in that other room. “Henry, I’ve got… an idea.”

\--

Stepping into the projectionist’s booth hit Henry and Bendy with nostalgia over the same person.

Norman Polk, a friend to them both, who neither had seen in years, had obviously been the key figure of this room at one point in the studio’s history. Henry always remembered him as being a bit of a quiet soul, who kept to the darkness, but talked when you addressed him first. He was surprisingly quiet for such a tall man, Henry wasn’t exactly average height himself, hell, he couldn’t deny that he was short, but Normal towered over everyone in the studio.

He was a friendly man though, even apologizing after he snuck up behind you and scared the shit out of you. He enjoyed the Bendy cartoons, always happy to play his reels for you if you asked, and he liked to visit Henry when he was drawing. As a fun joke between friends, Henry had drawn him as a character in the show, the Projectionist, a character that appeared to Bendy in a dream that chased him around, scaring him. The character was this strange fellow with a projector for a head, so he was a living projector basically.

The episode ended with Bendy realizing that the Projectionist just wanted his autograph the whole time, as he was a fan of Bendy’s show. It was cute, silly, and one Joey didn’t slap his name onto because he thought it was dumb, but Henry loved it (and took full credit for). Henry had never seen Norman cry until he watched that short, it had been a gift for all his hard work, though people often forgot he was an employee, but Henry always appreciated his work. Henry also had no idea that Norman was quite the hugger.

Bendy remembered him well, strangely enough. Norman was very kind to the Toons, never finding much to get annoyed about with them. Hell, once Bendy accidentally cracked the glass of a projector and had thought Norman would kill him for it, as he had been warned that the man did not like his stuff tampered with. But Norman had just told him accidents happened, and that he had plenty of other projectors. He just let Bendy off with a good-natured warning.

For some reason, though, Bendy felt like something happened to Norman, as the thought of the man left him feeling upset. And guilty.

“There’s another tape. Jeez, did everyone just decide to record things around here?” Henry mumbled as he activated it, hearing the accented voice of his old friend.

_"Every day da same strange thing happens, I'll be up here in my booth, da band will be swingin', and suddenly Sammy Lawrence just comes marchin' in and shuts da whole thing down. Tells us all to wait in the hall._

_Then I hear him. He starts up my projector, and he dashes from da projection booth and down to da recordin' studio like da little devil himself was chasin' behind. Few seconds later, da projector turns off. But Sammy, oh no, he doesn't come out for a long time._

_This man is weird. Crazy weird. I got half a mind to talk to Mr. Drew about all this, I really do. But then again, I have to admit. Mr. Drew has his own peculiarities."_

“You know what I liked about Norman?” The demon spoke up. “He was blunt.”

A snorted laugh came from Henry. “You got that right. He’s a blunt guy. Hm, though… what do you think he meant by all that stuff about Sammy?”

Bendy stared at the projector, before flipping the switch. The screen on the back wall of the music hall showed a Bendy cartoon, _Tombstone Picnic_. Henry stared at the cartoon as it played, there was no sound, just the images.

It was as if something clicked in his head, just as the projector went off. There was something about the projector that had to do with Sammy’s puzzle. He shook his head, his right eye twitched as if from the sudden shut off of the light from the device. That was weird.

“Somethin’ up?” Bendy asked, having noticed Henry reaching up to rub his eye, before he noticed that down below was a Bendy cutout. Whoa! When did that guy get there?!

“Yeah… I think I know how to open the sanctuary. But we gotta run.” He flipped the switch and ran down the stairs, Bendy trailing behind him quickly. “Play everything in order, before the projector shuts off!” Henry said as he plucked the strings of the banjo.

Bendy gave a nod, doing the same with the bass before playing a few keys of the piano. Henry finished it off with the violin, and the projector was off just a second later. The floor rumbled as the grate rose, allowing them access to the sanctuary. The demon and the human gave one another a thumbs up under the watchful eyes of the three cutouts that sat up in the viewing room.

Peeking into the now-opened room, both were surprised to find that it was a small hall, a few instruments kept inside. They walked in a little further, finding a bend, where it revealed what the sanctuary really looked like.

It was a small area, with two, large pipes on one wall, with a valve and a sign that read **FLOW**. But there was more to the room. The floor had a large pentagram painted on it, the desk had a scattering of papers on it, along with candles, lit, and a Bendy plushie. A toilet was in the room, was this once the bathroom? There was also a banjo, and more writing on the wall.

**SING A HAPPY SONG. WHISTLE A MERRY TUNE. WAIT FOR HIS ARRIVAL, HE’S COMING VERY SOON.**

“I think… an’ dis is just my personal opinion, dat Sammy Lawrence is completely, an’ utterly off his rocker.” Bendy spoke, making a disturbed face as he looked at the writing.

“Yeah, well… let’s just get this over with. Gotta turn this and get outta here, yeah?” Henry said, approaching the valve and giving it a few good turns, hearing the flowing of the pipes.

“Heh, how’d ya know da projector would get this puzzle solved?” Bendy asked, rocking back and forth on his feet.

Henry paused, frowning as he furrowed his brow in thought. How… did he figure it out? Something had clicked in his head, as if a small voice telling him that the projector was the key to Sammy’s puzzle, that it needs to be on when the instruments are played. He didn’t know where this train of thought came from, but he suspected it was from what Norman was rambling about. “Just came to me, I guess.” He shrugged, moving to step towards the entrance of the room. He nearly screamed when a cutout suddenly popped up, peeking at them from around the doorway, before it pulled away.

Bendy snorted loudly, before letting out a nervous laugh. “D-did dat scare you?”

“Don’t laugh, you got scared too…”

The demon scoffed, walking ahead of him. “You don’t know anythin’, I don’t get scared…” He trailed off when he came to a stop, staring upwards. “H-Henry…”

“What is it?” The animator asked, wanting to make a comment about what Bendy was saying before about not being scared, but he saw what the other was pointing at, and tensed up.

There, up in the viewing room, was a lone figure, standing next to a single cutout. The figure was the one from the hallway before, covered in what looked to be a black substance, and over his face was… well… what appeared to be a Bendy mask. A terribly beaten up mask, making the stranger so much more eerie.

“Hey! Who are you?” Henry called out, stepping out of the sanctuary.

The man was silent before he turned his attention to the floor, just as large pools of ink seeped through the floorboards, taking on the form of those creatures from before. For now, the man was forgotten as Henry rushed forward, swinging his axe, slicing up one of the creatures as Bendy ran ahead of him, punching one to make it explode.

The large group of ink beings were taken care of through the swinging of an axe and cartoon punches, leaving Henry and Bendy alone after just a few moments. Henry turned, glaring up at the figure, before grabbing Bendy’s hand, pulling him along.

They made it back to Sammy’s office, finding that there was still a busted pipe to deal with. A bit of searching led them to the infirmary. It had been flooded before, but it seems that the first valve drained the room. Carefully, Henry descended the still-wet steps with Bendy in tow, only for one of the creatures to appear. A quick swing of his axe killed it and they looked around the room. There were beds in here, along with a power switch, a Bendy cutout, and a pipe that seemed to be missing a valve.

“I wonder where it went, maybe if we look a bit more, we’ll find it?” He asked as he pulled the switch on the wall, seeing if that would do anything. Turning, he looked at the doorway that led to Utility Shaft 9, hearing a door open from within.

Bendy gave a nod to Henry’s question, frowning as he noticed the other area they could go. “It smells kinda funny…”

“Yeah, smells like backed-up sewage. Wait, you don’t have a nose, how do you smell?”

“Well, if you ask me, I’d like to think I smell like roses!” Bendy teased, winking as he walked on ahead. Henry shook his head, he should have known he’d walk into such a stupid joke.

They found that the new area they entered appeared to be something akin to a sewer, though ink ran through the area. It still smelled like garbage though, so it had obviously been one at some point, but now it just had ink.

“Alright, let’s go.” He put Bendy on his shoulders and started to tread the watery ink, doing his best to ignore the writing on the wall. It read **DOWN HERE WE’RE ALL SINNERS** , what the hell was that suppose to mean?

“Eww… I kinda… remember dis bein’ a place here. Makes sense to have it, what with all dat ink we’ve got in dis place. Wonder why it’s by da infirmary.”

Henry shrugged, feeling Bendy hold onto his head at the action. “I dunno, bud. But I suppose it’s just where it ended up. Who knows how much this place has really changed.”

He turned and was surprised to see something further down the tunnel, behind some boards. Carefully, he inched closer, before realizing it was one of those creatures. However, this one was large, it didn’t seem hostel, and it appeared to be both holding something in its hand and wearing a hat.

It noticed them before quickly entering the ink. “Does… that thing have our valve?” Henry commented, before breaking the boards, stepping over the remains. “Maybe we gotta get it from that ink monster?”

“Yeah, probably. I wonder why it didn’t, ya know, attack us like the other ones.” Bendy frowned as Henry walked. They passed by more writing, **THE SHEEP WILL COME TO SLAUGHTER** , before they found a small work space. There was a desk, music sheets scattered about, and an audio log. Bendy reached over, picking it up to click play.

_“I love the quiet, and that's hard to come by these busy times. And yeah sure it may stink to high heaven down here._

_But it's just perfect for an old lyricist like me. Sammy's songs always got some bounce, but if I didn't get away once in a while, they'd never have any words to go with them._

_So, I'll keep my mind a-singin' and my nose closed.”_

Bendy hummed in thought before loudly snapping his fingers. “OH! I remember dat voice! That was our lyricist, Jack… somethin’!”

“Jack Fain.” Henry spoke up. “I remember him, he worked with Sammy on the music, he’s the one who wrote the theme song for the show, when Joey would have it play in shorts.” Now that Henry thought about it… that ink being was wear Jack’s signature hat, Henry couldn’t remember a time where he wasn’t wearing that silly thing.

“Hehehe, we had a great theme song. I’m da dancin’ demon! Watch me twirl around an’ spin!” He happily hummed the song as Henry continued to walk along. They soon found the creature in another room, where large machinery was inside. The room was flooded, and the inky, hat-wearing being was at the end of the room, not paying attention to them at all.

“It’ll probably run if we get too close, who knows if we can attack it.” Henry mumbled.

“Henry, I got an idea.” Bendy said, pointing to the left. There was a switch there on one of the machines, along with another one on the right one. “Maybe those’ll lift up dat thingy at the end of da room! If we can get dat guy under it, we can crush it an’ get da valve.”

Henry raised an eyebrow, but he shrugged, couldn’t hurt to try. He approached the switch of the lift, pulling it down. He watched it raise up the platform in the back of the room, just as Bendy had predicted. The animator approached the monster, who quickly vanished, appearing where the human and toon had just been moments ago, which made Henry approach it there.

It vanished again, only to appear right under the platform. Quickly, Henry pulled down on the second switch.

There was a small delay, before it dropped, hard. The inky creature didn’t stand a chance, it was crushed under it. “Wow, I can’t believe dat actually worked. Who woulda guessed.” Bendy commented, chuckling as Henry walked over.

“Sorry I had to do that.” Henry said as he picked up the valve, looking at the hat that started to drift away in the ink. “Nice hat though.”

“Can I have it?” Bendy asked.

“No, I think it’s best to just keep it down here, it belonged to Jack, he’ll want it back eventually.” With that said, Henry made his way back to the infirmary, fitting the valve into place before he turned it. Like in the sanctuary, he heard the ink. Setting Bendy down, the two made their way back to Sammy’s office. The ink was gone, no longer spraying on the door, which finally gave them access into the room.

“’It’s time to believe’, eh?” Bendy read the writing on the wall of the office, scoffing. “Dis Sammy guy’s nuttier than Grandma’s fruitcake, I tell ya what!” He looked at the desk, smiling when he found the radio, and turned it on. A bouncy beat played as Henry pulled the switch, hearing the pipes working. As this happened, Bendy noticed something else on the desk, a set of blue prints.

For the Ink Machine.

He let out a small gasp, grabbing it. He’d have to show this to Henry, but not now, they were about to leave to go outside, and that was much more interesting than some creepy machine! He threw it behind himself, it vanished into a space that only toons could access, Hammerspace, and happily followed Henry out the door.

They walked down the hall, Henry was relieved, and Bendy was excited, they were almost out of here. But neither knew what was about to happen next. Just as they turned to exit the hallway, Henry felt a horrible, sharp pain in the back of his head, and he slumped to the ground, dropping like a rock.

“Henry!” Bendy screamed, before he was cracked in the head as well, seeing stars, literally, before he blacked out.

Henry stayed awake for just a few more seconds, hearing the soft whispers of the masked figure as he stood above him.

“Sheep, sheep, sheep… it’s time for sleep. Rest your head… it’s time for bed…”

\--

"There we go now, nice and tight. We wouldn't want our sheep roaming away now, would we? No, we wouldn't.”

Henry grunted, opening his eyes as he stared up at the man. That voice… he knew that voice… “S-Sammy…?” He blinked, trying to adjust to the bright light. His head hurt greatly, and he smelled ink and the coppery scent of blood. What happened? Wait… he and Bendy were about to leave, until something struck him and…

He gasped, shifting, realizing that he was tied up. “Sammy..! What is this?! What did you do?!” He shouted, trying to break out of his restraints.

Sammy stood there, tilting his head, that mask was just… even more unsettling now that Henry could see it better. It was almost as if it was actually looking at him. “Sammy? Oh, yes… my old name. No, I am sorry, little sheep, but that is the name of a man who was once lost, but now… now I am the Prophet! _His_ Prophet…”

“What?” Henry blinked but continued to struggle. “Sammy, or Prophet, or whatever the hell you’re goin’ by, what is the meaning of all of this!? Where’s Bendy?!”

As if to answer his question, a small, pained moan came from next to him, and Henry stared down at his right, seeing Bendy tied up with him, starting to come to. “No, Joey… don’t play Death an’ Taxis again…”

“Bendy! Oh God, are you alright?!”

“Mmm… H-Henry?” Bendy blinked, looking around, before seeing Sammy. He let out a horrible scream of fright. “It’s him!”

If Sammy was affected by this, he didn’t seem to show it. “I must admit I am honored you came all the way down here to visit me. It almost makes what I'm about to do seem cruel. But the believers must honor their savior. I must have _him_ notice me.” He started to pace, his hands behind his back. Henry noticed with a growing sickness that Sammy only had four fingers on each hand, and they were long, and too thin.

“I need you, the both of you. For you two are what my lord has been desiring for so long, I am sure you are the perfect sacrifices… the human with the heart and soul of the creation in him, the one who can end the curse placed upon him. And…” His attention landed on Bendy, making the demon sweat streaks of ink down his face. “The piece that wears his skin, the _mistake_ that is preventing him from being perfect…”

“Who are you callin’ a mistake?!” Bendy’s fear disappeared, replaced with a sudden rage. “You ain’t gonna be doin’ no sacrificin’ today, Lawrence! Let me and Henry go-!” Sammy slapped his inky hand over Bendy’s mouth, causing the Toon’s disgusted screams to become muffled.

“Shhh… none of that now, for our lord is calling to us, my little sheep. The time of sacrifice is at hand! And then, I will finally be freed from this... prison. This inky... dark... abyss I call a body.” Sammy gestured to his form, disgust was clear in his voice.

He stepped away, standing still, as if something caught his attention. Henry opened his mouth to say something, but Sammy held up a finger. “Shhhhh! Quiet! Listen! I can hear him. Crawling above. Crawling!” The three were silent, hearing something above them, in the vents, banging about. What… what could it be…

“Let us begin.” Sammy spoke up. “The ritual must be completed! Soon he will hear me... he will set us free." He turned, shuffling himself towards a door to their left, and slammed it shut behind himself.

Henry began to struggle with the ropes again, feeling them starting to loosen up, just as the crackling of the speakers in the room sounded, and Sammy’s voice was heard once more.

_"Sheep, sheep, sheep, It's time for sleep. Rest your head. It's time for bed. In the morning, you may wake. Or in the morning, you'll be dead.”_

As he spoke, the gate at the other end of the room rose up, showing a darkened hallway. As this was happening, the thumping in the vents became louder, harder, the creature was moving faster. Shit, shit, shit! They had to get out of there!

_“Hear me, Bendy! Arise from the darkness! Arise and claim my offering! Free me! I beg you! I summon you, ink demon! Show your face and take these tender sheep!”_

There was a horrible slamming sound from the room Sammy was in, before deep, loud growls filled the air. Bendy started to freak out and he finally got himself out of the ropes and worked to untie Henry’s, finding that they were tied a bit tighter than his own had been.

 _“No! My lord! Stay back!”_ The musician’s screams could be heard through the speakers, along with the snarls and growls of the one he called “Bendy”. _“I am your prophet! I am your- AAAHHH!!”_

There was horrible collection of sounds and screams from the speaks before they were silenced. “RUN!” Bendy shouted once Henry was freed.

The human didn’t even have to be told twice as he grabbed for his axe, finding that it had been discarded nearby, and rushed towards the now-open doorway across from him and his cartoon. The ink creatures from before appeared but were quickly take care of by Bendy’s fast hands and feet, before they rushed into the hall.

It was blocked by debris and Henry began to work quickly to break things with the axe to get them out of their way. They spotted an exit ahead of them, at the end of the hall, just past an ink-flooded room. Henry brought down the axe, slicing through a board in his way, before he let out a sharp cry.

The axe had broken in his hands, and a chunk of the broken weapon had sliced open the palm of his right hand. “Shit!” He hissed, looking at the bleeding gash.

“W-We can deal with it once we’re away!” Bendy squeaked. “That… thing is still here, somewhere! I-I can feel it…!”

“R-right…” Henry looked at the axe, grabbing the piece that still had the axe head attached to it, now it was a hatchet, but it was the best he could do. He moved quickly with Bendy, about to step foot into the ink pool, when something jumped out of it.

Standing in the middle of the inky room was a creature that looked like a deformed, off-model Bendy.

It was tall, lanky, with a bit of a pot belly on it. Its arms and legs were out of proportion, as if his arms were a terrible mix of human and cartoon, while one leg looked to be broken.

Its had a set of crooked, uneven horns, and its face was soaked in ink, except for its big, malicious Bendy smile. Henry knew that smile, it was the same one the blob creature from upstairs had given him before he ran and fell through the floor.

He watched in horror as the creature crotched down, letting out a screech as it started to charge.

“HENRY! RUN!” Bendy screamed, and the human turned down another hall, running as fast as he legs could carry him.

He had no idea where he was going, he just knew that he and Bendy had to get away from that… that Bendy monster! The adrenaline rush, and the instinct to run from trouble he got from serving in the war, were kicking his legs into overdrive, but poor Bendy was struggling behind him.

The creature seemed to be making the walls leak ink, and the black lines that were crawling all over every surface were affecting Bendy in a big way. His left eye was burning, and the white of it began to turn black as the creature got closer to him. So close that he could practically feel the icy, cold breathe of the monster he had been attached to just hours before, breathing down his non-existent neck…

**_'Come back to me…'_ **

Bendy screamed as something raked across his back, a burning hot pain coursed through his body. The demonic being had gotten close enough to reach out, slashing at Bendy’s back, but had trouble getting past an obstacle with its twisted leg.

Henry turned around at the scream seeing Bendy falling to the ground as the creature tried to maneuver itself past the fallen debris the other two had easily dodged. Did… did the creature not see it was there? Henry didn’t give it much thought as he rushed over, scooping up Bendy into his arms. Bendy let out a pained shout, feeling Henry’s hand against his back, though Henry himself was in pain as he felt strangely-warm ink seep into his open wound.

“Hold on! I see a door!” Henry yelled, his heart beating too hard in his chest, his breathing becoming ragged as he threw his hatchet aside, using his now-free hand to open the door and he jumped into the room, just as he heard a screech from the creature. He slammed the door shut and thanked his lucky stars that there was a built-in barricade already set up. He put the wooden plank down on the two notches of metal, blocking the door.

There was a loud set of bangs and growls, before a low, long moan came from the monster Bendy. Henry and Bendy both winced, the former’s right eye and the latter’s left twitched at the sound before it started to get quieter, fainter, and then it was gone.

Henry stood there, panting hard as he held Bendy in his arms, before he started to sway, and he carefully got himself down in a seating position. “L-Let me see your back…”

Bendy grunted, wincing as he rolled out of Henry’s hold, laying on the floor on his stomach. Henry stared in fascination and surprise at the wound. There were two strikes against Bendy’s back, but they seemed to be slowly closing before his eyes, absorbing the ink that had spilt from them, along with what looked to be Henry’s blood.

Carefully, Henry reached out, gently rubbing at the wounds. The imp hissed, tensing up, yet he oddly started to relax, feeling… slightly better the more Henry rubbed.

The animator smiled a little, before his hand started to burn and he pulled it away, looking at the gash. It was coated in blood and ink, and it burned as if he had stuck his hand in hot oil. “Fuck… fuck!” He dropped to his side as his arm stiffed up, his fingers twitching painfully as the burn ran up his arm to his chest.

“H-Henry!” Bendy gasped, getting up. “Hold on…! I’ll find ya somethin’ for dat…!”

Strangely, his back felt much better, minus a dull ache, as he ran from the area and into another one, thanking all the beings above and below when he spotted a first aid kid on a wall. He yanked it free and rushed over. “I’ll help ya, buddy!”

He opened up the kit as Henry gasped in pain, his eyes watering as he looked at Bendy. “W-what’s h-happenin’ to me…”

“I don’t know…! I don’t know…! Maybe dat monster d-did somethin’…! He did somethin’ to me…!” He remembered his eye acting up, and… hearing a strange, yet very familiar, voice in his head. He tried to ignore that as he found the bottle of rubbing alcohol. “Will dis help?”

Henry looked at the bottle, nodding, but clenched his teeth at another surge in his arm and hand. “P-Put on a glove… rubbin’ alcohol is like acetone… it’s gonna burn you and erase your ink…”

Bendy winced, but did as Henry said, putting on a rubber glove that was in the box. Thank god for Toon logic, as he got his large hand to fit into the rubber glove with some ease. It looked silly, but he was on a mission to clean that wound! He carefully dabbed a few cotton balls with the liquid and began to clean up the area, feeling terrible as he heard Henry wince and gasp in pain. “I’m sorry…!”

“N-no, it means it’s working, just keep it up… how’s your back…?”

“It doesn’t hurt much anymore.” Bendy turned his head completely around, surprised to see that the wounds were healed up, he could faintly see lines in the light of the room, but it was almost as if he hadn’t been attacked. “How did… how did dat happen?”

“I dunno…” Henry closed his eyes, panting hard. He felt so tired right now…

“Henry, don’t you be fallin’ asleep on me..! When humans fall asleep here, sometimes they don’t wake up again…!” Bendy wheezed, why did he know that, what did that mean?! He just said it without thinking! Oh man, his poor head was spinning from all the worrying and fear, plus after what just happened in that maze of a hallway…

“I’m alright… I just want to rest; my old man body wasn’t built for such a rush… can you…” He gestured to his hand. “Can you finish cleanin’ that? Can you wrap it…? I owe you one, kid.” He gave him a shaky grin.

Bendy only nodded and went back to cleaning as Henry started to doze off on him. Pausing in his work, Bendy approached a shelf they were near, grabbing a few Bendy plushies off and brought them over. He gently placed Henry’s head on a few of them, smiling sadly at the squeaks they made, before he returned to his work.

As he cleaned up his ink blood and Henry’s blood, he noticed something about the gash. Around it was a black splotch, staining Henry’s skin in a peculiar shape, a shape that was seen all over the studio.

Bendy’s head shape.

He’s seen something like this before, he knows he had, spots of ink that look too uncanny to just be a drop or a small stain. He didn’t remember what they were for, but the idea left a sick, guilty feeling in his stomach.

“Oh no… not you too… you can’t be marked…”

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something’s happening with Henry, and so early in the story? Well, it was bound to happen. Actually, it’s been happening since chapter one, it’s just getting more advance. What will happen? Will he become an ink creature like Sammy and “Alice”?
> 
> *shrugs wildly* Only I know for sure.
> 
> Again, I’m sure you have questions! I can try to answer them, but if I have to, I’ll be super vague about them. I’ve got a lot of ideas for this au, but I gotta be careful about what I do with it cause, ya know, spoilers and such.
> 
> Anyway, you’re also probably wondering ‘where’s Boris, he’s at the end of chapter two’. Yeah… well… seeing as I have plans for what is going on with Bendy and Henry in this story, Boris is sorta gonna have to be put on the back burner for a few chapters to allow Henry and Bendy to deal with the changes happening to them. He’s okay with that, he’s chillin’ in his hidey-hole, safe from “Alice” and “Bendy”.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! I’d like to state this now, but because this is my final month of college (I graduate in May!), updates for this story and the Pulling Strings series will be limited as I work on final papers, I’ve got two big ones I need to do, so those are a little more important than fanfiction.
> 
> However, that won’t stop me from playing Chapter Four when it comes out.
> 
> Alrighty, that being said, thanks again for reading! Please comment and kudos!


	4. But Still Something Keeps You Going Further Down! Getting Out Gets Harder...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just who is that creature that wears Bendy’s smile, and how much does it know of what is going on? And what does it know of that strange mark on Henry’s hand?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for chapter four!
> 
> Taking a side-trip from canon to have Henry explore a bit more of the studio, not quite to the lair of Alice Angel and what is beyond that, but to the fandom extension of the studio, of dozens of doors and halls that hold offices, supplies, and monsters behind every door.
> 
> Plus, it allows me to explore and establish a bit more of what the mark on Henry is and what is going to come of it.
> 
> On with the fic!

Henry frowned as he walked down the hall to a familiar office, to a familiar door, to see a familiar face. He held a stack of papers in his hands, mostly notes and such for Joey, but on top of the pile was a set of sketches he had done.

It’s only been a few weeks into the opening of the studio, and the eighteen-year-old was still feeling the rush of opening a business, of doing his dream job. However, as much as he was enjoying it, he was also dreading it, thanks to his boss, who also happened to be his best friend. He stopped in front of the door and ran his hand through chestnut locks.

He knocked on the door, before hearing a voice from the other side. “Joey?” He asked, poking his head in, seeing the older man working on something, writing on a sheet of paper. “Is it a bad time?”

Joey paused, glancing up with a smile. “No, just writing up a few notes and ideas. Do you need something, Henry?”

“Uhh… well… remember how you asked me to come up with a character that, you know, would get us attention?”

“Of course! I asked you about that… gosh, the day we opened, right?”

Henry nodded, walking into the office before sitting down in the chair in front of the desk. “I’m sorry it took so long, but I gave it some thought, and I think I’ve got the perfect character.”

Joey blinked, watching as Henry handed him a sheet of paper. On it was a little character, almost completely inked in, except for his big gloves, and his white face, sporting two big, black eyes, and a simple smile.

“H-His name is Bendy, Bendy the Dancin’ Demon.” Henry spoke up, a bit nervous. “He’s a little devil who came to Earth to cause trouble, but decided he likes it there better than Hell! Here, people enjoy his dancin’, not like back in Hell, where the other demons make fun of him! He’s got a song in his soul that his feet just gotta jig to!”

“Hm… that’s different. What else does he do?” Joey asked, looking at the designs carefully, adjusting his glasses.

“Well, he likes pranks. Sure, his favorite hobby is to dance, but he’s a demon, he’s a trickster! He’s gonna pull a prank whenever he can! He’s a bit of a softy though, doesn’t like to fight and such, heh, not much of a demon, right? I figured that he’d be more enjoyable if he wasn’t automatically viewed as the villain, where he can be seen as the good guy, like Mickey Mouse, or Bimbo the Dog!”

“I like that, a demon as a main character, that’s very different, very… fitting!” Joey smiled. “I love it, however…”

“However?” Henry frowned, that was never a good sign with his friend.

Joey turned the paper over for Henry to see. “This tail you gave him, I don’t like it. Yes, he’s a demon, but not all demons have them, too stereotypical! To medieval and such! We gotta make him stand out in a way that people won’t be intimidated by him!”

Henry nodded, though he didn’t like that idea. Bendy’s always had a tail, the original design that Henry had made back when he was fifteen had one, it would be weird to suddenly change it.

“And this face, it’s cute, I like it, but that smile is so bland and boring. Come on, Henry. I know you’re better than this. Look, right here,” He pointed to one of the little facial expressions Henry had done as practice for the demon. “I like this one, it’s perfect for him! I want him to have this face as his default face! It will let people know that he is not a threat! That he’s the good guy, the star of the show!”

Green eyes looked at the drawing, at the face. Bendy had a big, toothy smile, Henry didn’t mind it, but he felt like it might put some people off. Well… if changing a few things meant that Joey approved, and Henry could animate his little creation, then he’d put up with it.

“Does this mean I can animate Bendy into episodes?” Henry asked with a smile, before it turned into a look of horror as he stared at Joey.

His friend was covered in ink as it dropped from the ceiling, his smile looked so force, so malicious… there was something black leaking from his eyes. Henry’s heart started to beat hard in his chest as the walls crawled with strange trails of ink.

Joey stood up from his desk, his eyes now stained a solid black, except for two pinpoints of yellow light. He cackled, it sounded as if they were underwater. **“It’s a perfect smile, Henry! A perfect smile for a perfect, living form!”**

“Henry!” A voice, who was here? Henry stumbled out of the chair as something started to come out of the wall behind Joey, more ink began to fall from the ceiling. It looked like a cartoon monster, of his little devil.

 **“I need you, Henry Stein, I need you… to be perfect…”** Joey wheezed out before he started to cackle again, lifting his left hand, there was something on it, some sort of… weird shape? The animator couldn’t tell, but he could see that black lines were crawling up Joey’s arm from the mark, looking like veins… the demon behind Joey also moved its hand, just like the director…

“Henry!”

The man who was once Joey leaped at Henry, his blackened fingernails became claws, aimed right for the animator…

_“HENRY!”_

Henry gasped, coughing hard at the action as he stared up into a worried set of eyes that did not match at all. Bendy stared at him, before touching his face. “Henry, oh thank da beings above an’ below! You’re awake! Y-You’re alive…!”

“B-Bendy…? What happened..?” Last thing Henry remembered was Bendy cleaning his hand. He lifted the hand up, seeing that it was wrapped up in gauze, there was a light staining of ink and blood on it, but it looks like Bendy did a decent job with the wrapping. His attention went back to the Toon, who was holding up a can of bacon soup.

“Drink dis first, please, yer gonna need it…” Henry was going to tell him that he didn’t want soup, but he noticed it was a can full of water.

He realized just how thirsty he was and started to drink it down, trying not to choke or make himself sick. Once he had enough, he set down the can and glanced around. He found that they were still where they had been before he passed out, and that he had been lying on a small pile of Bendy plushes. “Where did you get the water?”

“While you were knocked out, I found a small bathroom. D-Don’t worry, I’m alright!” Bendy nervously grinned at the concerned look that crossed Henry’s face. “Only one of dem creatures found me. I’m callin’ it a Searcher, cause dat thing was tryin’ to find me after I got away from it. Anyway, I found da bathroom an’ saw dat the water came out ink-free! So, I drank a can of soup to get ya some fresh water! You humans need it, right?”

“We do.” Henry replied, taking another drink. “Thank you. But why did you seem so worried when I woke up? And you didn’t answer my question from before.”

Bendy looked hesitant before bowing. “I know dat ya know I don’t remember all dat much of da studio… but I do remember dat sometimes people don’t wake up when they fall asleep here. I was scared, you’ve been asleep for so long… I thought you’d never wake up…”

Henry saw watery ink come to Bendy’s eyes and he reached out, rubbing at a tear that escaped. “Were you that worried about me..?”

“Of course I was!” The demon exclaimed. “Henry, I don’t… I don’t have any friends in dis place. I don’t know where Alice an’ Boris are, I bet a lotta people here are dead… an’ you’re my creator. I lost you once, I don’t wanna lose you again… permanently. I can’t remember everythin’, but I know dat some bad stuff happened here, an’ I’d never forgive myself if I was da the cause of da bad stuff dat happens to you!” The mark on Henry’s hand came to mind, but he didn’t have the heart to tell the guy right now, he had enough on his plate to worry about.

When they were in a safer spot, he’d let Henry know everything he knew about the ink that stained his friend’s hand, at least… what little he knew of it.

The animator stared at him, before pulling him close for a hug, catching the Toon off-guard. Henry, for a long time now, wasn’t one for touch, or showing his emotions too much, but sometimes he had to let his guard down and just… well, right now he needed to comfort Bendy. Yeah, their time together was short, but Henry had always cared about Bendy.

Even after he had been fired, even in these past thirty years, Henry had never stopped caring about his cartoon. Bendy was a huge part of his life, his most important cartoon creation, someone he was always proud to call his greatest idea. Sure, Joey took the rights to Bendy and his friends after Henry was fired, but Henry was still Bendy’s creator, had been since he was fifteen. He was the one who drew Bendy, gave him life on the pages and cells of storyboards and animation. Hell, he still had some Bendy merchandise and his original sketches in his home, he still cared.

He held the crying demon close, letting Bendy vent out his stress as he rubbed his back. He was surprised to find that Bendy’s back was healed. He could only just faintly feel the scratches Bendy had gotten from the attack, they felt off compared to the rest of his inky form. How did he heal so fast? Was it a Toon thing? He couldn’t quite remember everything that happened in the last ten minutes before he passed out.

Henry remembered pain in his arm, it reminded him of when his leg had been injured in the war, like his arm had been struck with hot shrapnel, but from the inside. But now? All he felt was a light tingling in the palm of his hand from the wound. Hm, how strange… then again, this whole place was strange, who knows what’s going on here… plus, it was a healing wound, they were always gonna feel weird. Uhg, he’s just overthinking everything.

“You okay, kid?” Henry asked, pulling Bendy back enough to look at his face.

Bendy gave a nod, rubbing at his eyes. “Don’t tell anyone I was cryin’, demons shouldn’t cry.”

“Yeah, well, you’re a special demon, you’ve never been like all those other lame demons.” Henry smiled a bit, rubbing his hand between his horns. Bendy just let out a small huff of a laugh as he sat back, before letting out a sigh.

“You were sleepin’ for a long time, you feelin’ any better?”

“I feel just fine. How… long was I out?”

“Your watch said about… five hours.”

Henry didn’t look pleased with that, but he was then offered a can of soup, noticing that Bendy had taken his swiss army knife to open it. He didn’t really want it, but he might as well have something in his system. “Thanks, Bendy. So… what do we do now? That demonic creature could still be out there, are there any other exits?” He asked as he sipped the cold soup.

Who knew where they were in the studio, they were unconscious when Sammy taken them to that room, where the hell was it even? And the previous exit was where they ran into the other Bendy.

“I don’t know, I just remember da one from da music hall. I’m sure there’s more.” Bendy replied as he picked up a Bendy plush, giving it a small squeeze to hear it squeak. He smiled a bit before he tossed it behind himself. Henry noticed it never hit the ground, hell, it vanished completely. He also noticed the first aid kit was missing as well, all that remained were the used cotton balls, soaked in blood and ink. Curiously, Henry wondered if Bendy was able to do what a lot of cartoon characters could do, pull things out from behind their back with impossible powers.

But then again, Bendy could kill ink creatures with a single touch and make a light bulb appear over his head, so it’s possible.

This studio is freaking nuts.

The human sighed loudly and rubbed at his neck before he drank from the can. “We need to keep movin’, we can’t stay in one place for long. I’ve got a feelin’ that doin’ that is just gonna ask for trouble. I bet the things that live here know we’re alive, and they’re waitin’ for us.”

Bendy just nodded, he really didn’t want to keep going, but he wanted out of here just as much as Henry did. The less time they spent dilly-dallying about, the more time they had to get to the exit that would give them their freedom. “Go freshen up a bit, Henry. No offense, but you’re an inky mess! An’ you’re hearin’ dis from a guy made of da stuff!” Bendy grinned his signature smile and Henry felt a cold chill run up his spine, remembering his nightmare. But this was his Bendy, and he knew there was nothing to fear with this guy.

He gave a nod before standing, having Bendy lead him to the bathroom. The demon stood outside the door as Henry went in to get himself cleaned up and refreshed. After he did all that, he looked himself in the mirror, frowning at the ink that was still sticking to his skin.

For some reason, he felt the need to look at his eyes, but he didn’t see anything different about them, still the same green they’ve always been, with bags under them. Why did he feel like something was wrong with them… uhg, maybe that hit from Sammy messed up his head a little and made him more paranoid that he was before?

Sammy… what happened in that room before? Hell, what happened to the proud musician in general? What did this place do to him to turn him into that strange monster of a man? Was he even dead after what happened in there with the ink monster? That… other Bendy, what was it? Was it the creature from upstairs that Bendy split from? They did have the same smile, gave off the same kind of energy, but there is no way that his sweet, yet sassy, Bendy came from the same ink as that mimic.

Henry ran a hand through his hair, pausing when he felt something… well… the lack there of, actually. His gash, from when he was hit with a chunk of ceiling, back in the pentagram room… it was gone. All he felt there was a smooth line of skin under his hair, as if it was an old wound from years ago, a scar.

How did… how did that happen?

“Henry!” Bendy shouted from the other side of the door, and the human was quick to throw it open. The hallway was full of those creatures, Searchers, and Bendy was standing on top of a barrel, looking terrified. “T-They just started bubblin’ up from da floor! Help! There’s too many of ‘em!”

“Hold on, bud!” Henry looked back in the bathroom for a weapon, happy to spot a long piece of piping that had been discarded. He grabbed it before rushing into the hall, the Searchers now had two targets to attack. “Bendy, touch as many as I can! I’ll take care of them with you!”

“There’s so many…!”

“We’ll be fine, we’ve beaten them before, we can do it again!” Henry swung, splattering one of them with the faucet head of the pipe.

Bendy squeaked and slapped at a Searcher that reached up for him, watching as it died. He slapped another one as Henry struck one that tried to grab his leg. “There’s so much more here then before! Where are these things comin’ from, Henry?!”

“Why are you askin’ me?! I know as much as you do! Shit!” Henry slipped and landed on his back, grunting at the shock of pain. The Searchers took this as their chance to swarm. He tried to raise his pipe, only for one of the ink creatures to cover it with its body. “No!” He called out as they started to cover him, the pressure on his chest was like someone pressing an ice block made of ink on him.

“B-Bendy…!” Henry shouted as one of the Searchers opened its mouth and tried to eat his head.

A million noises buzzed in Henry’s head all at once, like he was hearing dozens of TVs playing at the same time, all on the fullest volume. He couldn’t tell what any of them were saying, but he swore he heard the word ‘help’ repeated over and over.

Suddenly, the noises stopped all at once with a loud pop and Henry gasped, sucking in air instead of ink. Bendy was standing by him, punching at the Searchers, rage clear on his cartoony face, his odd-eye burned bright, nearly glowing yellow as he shoved his hand through the chest of a creature before he panted, dropping his hand to his side.

The creatures were all gone, and Henry tried to sit up. His body shook, and he turned, retching on the floor, ink coming up. “F-Fuck…” He wheezed out, rubbing his mouth on the back of his hand. “Bendy, you… you saved me…”

Bendy turned, frowning, looking so worried and relieved. “Henry, it… it tried to eat ‘cha! It was gonna eat you! Are you okay?!”

“I’m… I’m fine… I swallowed ink though.” The human sat up, rubbing at his face. “I don’t know what happened, but… I heard noises when it covered my face, like, dozens upon dozens of voices, all sayin’ different things, all at once. What the hell was that about?”

A look crossed Bendy’s face, but it was gone as quickly as it came, blink and you miss it. “I see… you gonna be okay? What happened?”

“I slipped, and they took the chance to get me while I was down. I think, from now on, we need to fight side by side. Never leave each other’s sight. They clearly out number us, but we’re stronger.”

“You’re the strong one, I’m just da guy wit’ da explodin’ touch.”

“You’re still strong, Bendy.” Henry replied as he picked up the pipe, only to drop it when a shot of pain ran up his hand. “Damnit!”

Bendy perked up, eyes wide. “What’s wrong?!”

“My… my hand hurts… must have injured it in the fight.” He looked at the hand that was bandaged up. A soft, scared whine came from Bendy. “It’s okay, I’ve suffered worse, it just hurt suddenly. Look, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” He moved his hand about to prove his point.

The look on Bendy’s face didn’t get better, it got worse. “Bendy? What’s the ma-” Henry frowned but seized up when his heart started to pound too hard in his chest. He watched as Bendy’s odd-eye started to turn gray in the white part, before it turned black. “Bendy…?”

“It’s comin’… we gotta run…” Bendy whispered, pointing a shaking finger behind Henry, down the hall, where they could see black lines slowly starting to crawl along the wooden walls. Henry grabbed the pipe and moved to follow Bendy down the other part of the hall, trying to look for an area to turn down. They took a right and went into the first room they could get into.

It looked to be an old office, covered in dust and cobwebs, there were faded and yellowed drawings on the walls, and only a small puddle of ink was on the floor. Henry locked the door and sat with his back pressed against it. Bendy was sitting next to him, his yellow eye was still black as he stared at the door in fear.

Henry’s heartbeat was beginning to return to normal, before it picked up again, beating hard as the lines appeared on the walls and floor. They could hear a shuffling outside, getting louder and louder. A Searcher suddenly popped out of the puddle, moaning as it started to move towards them, only to stop on the moving, black lines from the other Bendy that started to cover the floor and walls. It shriveled up, as if in pain, before popping. Before Bendy and Henry could figure out what just happened, a loud growl was heard, too close to the door. Bendy put a hand over Henry’s mouth, and the gesture was returned as they listened to the noises of the inky demonic copy.

Henry felt his right eye twitch as he listened to it shuffle away, the lines following after it. It took a few moments for the lines to be completely gone, for the noises to be silenced, and for Bendy’s eye to return to its normal, off-model look. He let out the breath he had been holding for a few moments now and went limp against the door.

“It… it killed dat Searcher… just like how I do…” Bendy’s frightened voice caught Henry’s attention, and he looked at his friend. Bendy was shaking so badly as his ink started to run, not just on his head, but all over his body. “It killed it so easily… oh jeez, am… am I like dat thing…?! We share da same smile, da same ink…! Heck, we both came outta da machine at the same time!”

A hand was on his head, rubbing his horns, and Bendy looked up, seeing the concerned look of his creator. “Bendy, listen to me. I don’t know what that thing is, or what it did, but you and it are not the same. For one, you have to touch those ink things, it didn’t do that, it used those creepy ink trails, which you don’t have. Two, you are nothin’ like it, even if you share the smile and came from the same ink, it’s clear you two are different. Three, that thing is an imitation, you’re the real deal. If anythin’, it’s like you, but as a terrible imitation, a knock-off, it could never be you. There’s only one Bendy, and it’s you.”

Bendy blinked, his ink starting to return itself to normal, no longer dripping. “Only one Bendy… yeah, there’s only one of me, an’ dat’s how it should be.”

Henry looked back at the door but gave a nod. “I think… that creature is a copy, probably made by Joey. Considering all the crazy shit that’s goin’ on in this studio, I wouldn’t be surprised if that monster is some failed attempt on Joey’s part, it just happened to come out of the machine with you.”

He leaned back, pulling Bendy against his side, much to the demon’s protest. “Don’t worry about that guy, alright? We can do our best to avoid it. I noticed somethin’, you seem to have some sort of built in warning symbol for when its close.”

“I do?” Bendy raised an eyebrow. “How?”

Henry tapped the underside of Bendy’s left eye. “I saw this change, the white of your eye turned black when it started moving closer to us.”

The demon blinked a few times, gently touching the underside of his eye. “Huh, I… didn’t even notice dat… wow! I’m full of all kinds of surprises today!”

“Heh, yeah, you are.” Henry glanced around. “We can’t stay here, we gotta keep going, we need to find an exit.”

“Yeah, but wit’ dat guy wanderin’ da halls, it ain’t gonna be a walk in da park, ya know?”

“That’s why we rely on your eye, and if we have to… well, we can try to fight.”

“I don’t like dat option…”

Henry sighed, moving to stand up. “Neither do I, Bendy, but what choice do we have? If we have to fight, well, we have to fight, there’s nothing we can do. We either save our skins, or let that thing rip us apart. We already know it wants to do that.”

Bendy rubbed at his back. “No kiddin’… weird dat I healed up so fast, I mean, dat’s normal in a cartoon, but in dis studio? I can do some Toon stuff, but not heal up like dat. Wonder what happened.”

“Might be the same cause for your eye and your powers, something in the ink?”

“Hm.” Bendy looked up at Henry, before glancing at his hand. “I suppose it could be da ink, maybe somethin’ in it, who knows…”

“Probably.” Henry opened the door, peeking out into the hall. “I wouldn’t put it past Joey to have put somethin’ into the ink to make it, well, what it is.” That’s what worried Henry the most, what the hell was in this ink that made it so… evil. Well, not completely evil, Bendy was the blessed exception in this hellhole.

He was curious as to why Bendy was so different, but right now, he needed to focus on getting to an exit, or at least to a safer area. Who knew what lurked in these old halls with them? Once he was sure the coast was clear, Henry slipped out into the hall, holding onto his pipe, ready to swing it if he needed to. Bendy followed him out, looking around. “So far so good, but dat might not be a good thing…”

The animator just nodded as they quietly walked, moving past old posters and drawing tacked on the walls, even finding what looked to be inky hand prints.

That… dragged down the walls and onto the floor, leaving fading trails, as if someone had been pulled away…

“I don’t like dis, Henry…” The devil darlin’ whispered. “I remember da studio had some problems, but never like dis… sure there were complaints an’ stuff, no work place is perfect, but there… is somethin’ seriously wrong here.”

He paused, looking at an old poster of one of his shorts, seeing that it had been slashed through, as if by claws. “I feel like we’re in a whole other world… like da further we move, the worse it is in da studio. So much has changed since I was last outta da machine, who knows how long I was stewin’ up in there. This place as gone to hell! Upstairs? Ain’t too bad, yeah? From what li’l bit of it I saw through all dat ink on me, it looked abandoned, but not too bad. Goin’ down lower, though?”

“It’s turned into a fun house of horrors, except minus the fun and with twice the horror.” Henry replied. “What the hell was goin’ on here? This is too much building for a small, independent studio, and all this ink, the machine, what is walkin’ about! What was happenin’ here, cause I’m sure it wasn’t just cartoons. Joey was a man of bizarre ideas, but even he wouldn’t have approved of this, right?”

“… How well did ya know Joey Drew, Henry?”

The question caught Henry off-guard, and he turned to look down at his cartoon friend. There was a serious look on his face as he stared up at Henry. “I dunno how well you knew Joey, but after ya left, when dat machine upstairs got installed up in this place, Joey… changed. I know he was a bit of a loon sometimes, ambitious to a point where it was dangerous, an’ a man so focused on his goals it could be scary, but I know dat even before da machine came in, he was lookin’ into some business he shouldn’t have. An’ when da Ink Machine came in? It got so much worse, he was doin’ things a mortal man shouldn’t be doing, shouldn’t even know.”

“Bendy, you sound as if… he made a deal with the devil.”

Bendy clucked his tongue, putting his hands on his hips. “I don’t know who or what Joey made deals wit’, an’ I ain’t no demon dat steals souls an’ wants to kill people, but even I know dat a human can’t do all did without dealin’ in da dark arts. I don’t remember all dat much, but I can darn well tell ya dat dis is the workin’s of a mad man who sold his soul. Call it demonic instinct, but it’s what I feel in my ink…”

Henry clenched the pipe tightly in his hands, ignoring the twinge in his right hand. “I… when Joey and I were younger, Joey was a sickly kid, and looked into ways to get better. He once told me he found an old book, somethin’ his grandfather had gathered in his travels around Europe, a book that could do magic or somethin’. He said he was gonna use the book to get better. I never believed him, Joey was a weird kid, I was literally his only friend when we were growing up, he was… strange, his head always up in the clouds, always wanted to do things big and loud, but always had to be in control, always had to be the one who was the straight man…”

He glared at the floorboards. “I remember the book, he showed it to me, once. It was black, looked both old and young, and it was as if it was some old journal, full of all sorts of weird drawings and notes, written in a tongue I didn’t know. Joey told me it was a book to do dark magic with, and he had been dabblin’ in it. Again, I didn’t believe him. He liked to make up stuff to sound superior to me, always spinnin’ lies. Matured a bit when he went to college, stopped with all that, I thought he had straightened out.”

Ink written words of **WHY IS THIS HAPPENING** were on the wall as Henry sighed. “Looks like I was wrong, his lying just improved.”

“Do you believe dat book is da cause of this?”

“I don’t know, I doubt he even has it anymore. His parents house caught on fire when we were teenagers, a year before he went to college. He said a lot of their books were destroyed, he liked to read, it was his favorite hobby aside from annoyin’ the hell outta me. But yeah, mysterious fire, only part of the house was burned, their private drawing room, they were rich. Joey said it was an accident, I never trusted him on that, something seemed off about it.”

Bendy frowned but tried to smile. “Joey might have found another book.”

“Wouldn’t put it past him.” Henry sighed again, before frowning, listening to what sounded like a faint whistle, in the distance. “… We might need to take a different route, the demonic version of you went this way, right?”

The toon nodded, and they took a left down another hall, however, this was a mistake as they found it flooded, with moving, bubbling ink. “Shit!” Henry stumbled back when a Searcher’s hand reached out for them, before many more followed. He swung, slicing it off, watching the hand splatter against a wall.

Bendy moved forward and slapped two of them. “Come on! Let’s get ‘em before we get dat other me’s attention!”

“What makes you think it will get its attention?”

“I dunno, I think its still close enough to notice all da loud moans an’ stuff!” Bendy slapped another Searcher across its mouth, watching it explode. They didn’t seem to care if one of their comrades died, it was rather unsettling.

Henry moved to strike down another one, when he watched the creatures freeze up, before they dissolved before their eyes. What… were they retreating? That was weird, they’ve never done that before…

He finally noticed the inky lines under his feet, seeping into the large ink spill that had breed the Searchers.

There was no hard beating of his heart, there was nothing on the walls, he hadn’t heard the shuffling coming down the hall, and he hadn’t even bothered to look at Bendy during the fight. If he had, he would have seen the black of his eye.

“Oh raspberries…” Bendy whispered and Henry turned to look behind himself.

There, at the end of the hall, was the demonic mimic. It stood there, rigid grin in place, its head tilting slowly as its gloved hand twitched. It took a step, moving closer to them, and Henry knew he should run, knew he should just pick up Bendy and bolt like their lives depended on it, which they did.

But he was frozen in fear.

He couldn’t hear Bendy’s frantic voice, he couldn’t even hear his own racing heartbeat, all he could hear was the heavy breathing of the demon as it held ups its hand. When did it get so close, when did it…

The touch was right in the middle of his forehead, and it felt so cold, the coldest thing he had ever felt-

“Don’t touch him!” Bendy screamed, shoving at his counterpart with enough force to make it stumble back. “You can’t have him! I don’t care whatcha say! He’s not yours! He’s _MINE_!” Bendy screamed, slapping at the taller ink creature, as if trying to make it pop.

All it did was growl and shove him aside, moving to get back to Henry. But this attempt was stopped when it was struck across the face by the pipe, turning its head into a rather painful-looking position. Henry had, thankfully, returned to his senses in time to make a move. “Get away from us! Or I’ll do it again!” He was still terrified, but he had to protect Bendy.

The demon cracked its head back in place, still grinning as it did this, the noise was sickening. It made a noise, almost as if it was laughing, as it pointed at Henry’s hand, the bandaged one. It lifted up its own right hand, that looked too-human compared to the left one and wiggled its fingers.

Bendy went still, his eyes widening. “N-no… don’t say that…”

Henry glanced at his creation, confused for a moment, before the creature pounced. Henry had only seconds to dodge, watching as the creature jumped into the ink, vanishing into the large spill. There was not a single trace of it, how did it… can it travel in the ink?!

He swallowed the lump in his throat, looking over at Bendy, who was sweating inky bullets at this point. “What did it say?”

“…”

“It spoke somehow.” Henry narrowed his eyes. “You understood it, didn’t you? What did it say?”

Bendy was shaking like a leaf as he lowered his head. “It… I don’t know how, but I heard its thoughts…”

“What did it say, Bendy? Tell me, it obviously had something to do with me.”

A heavy sigh escaped Bendy as he approached Henry, taking his right hand to remove the bandage. Henry was surprised to see what marked his palm. The gash was there, still fresh, but imprinted on his skin was a large, black shape, much like Bendy’s head. “What the hell..?”

A flash in his mind, of his nightmare, Joey… Joey had something like this, on his left hand, but it was upside down… that’s why it looked weird! It was an upside down Bendy head! With black veins coming out of it, looking like the mimic’s inky trails.

“It said… ‘You’ve been marked, just like so many before you, just like him’. I don’t know… I don’t know what da marks are, but I think they’re a bad omen!” Bendy exclaimed.

“A bad…” Henry looked at it again before he started to wrap up his hand again. “I don’t believe in that shit.” No, this was just a coincidence, there was no way this could be anything too serious, right? Right, maybe this was just some weird trick, the studio was proving to be full of all kinds of weird shit anyway, what’s a little ink spill on his hand that looks exactly like a blackened out Bendy head?

“B-But Henry… it knew you had it…”

Henry looked at him, his eyes still hard. “Did you know?”

Bendy wanted to say no, to tell him he knew nothing, but he had already made it clear that the answer was yes. “I saw it, when I was cleanin’ up da wound. I really don’t know what da mark is for! B-but I’ll do whatever I can to get rid of it off of ya, I don’t want it to be why you could end up like Sammy…! I-If dat’s what happened to him… da monster me said others before ya had it…”

Henry wanted to yell at him, angry that Bendy hadn’t told him before, but the look of the demon’s face told him that Bendy really had no idea what the mark was for, that he was just as clueless as Henry. He hissed through his teeth before sighing loudly, running a hand through his hair. “Promise me that you’ll make sure nothin’ happens to me. You already said you were gonna help me, you better promise me that you will. I’ll do the same with you, I already said I was gonna take you out of here, so you better help get me out of this place to do so.”

“I-I promise, Henry…! I’m really sorry…!”

“I know you are, and this ain’t your fault, whatever this is… but no more lyin’ to me, okay? Don’t hide stuff anymore. If somethin’ is up, if you remember somethin’ or whatever, you tell me, got it?”

“Got it! I promise! Cross mah heart an’ hope to die!” He made an X over his chest. “Stick a needle in mah eye, I won’t lie!”

The animator looked at him before a tired smile came to his lips. He couldn’t be mad at Bendy, no, this… whatever this is, it wasn’t his fault, he knew that. But now that had Henry worried, what could the mark do? Would it affect him in anyway? Would he be okay? Keep his humanity and sanity, or would he end up like Sammy…?

“I wonder how dat guy knew you had it.” Bendy spoke up. “Hmm… dat jerk’s messin’ wit’ us or somethin’! It’s makin’ mah head spin!” And, as if to prove a point, Bendy’s head spun around like a globe. Henry couldn’t help it, he let out a laugh at that.

A chuckle came from Bendy as he got his head to stop. “H-Hehehe, I gotcha to laugh! I still got it!”

“Heh, that you did, buddy. Come on, let’s get out of here, before it comes back.”

“Right.” The demon nodded, taking Henry’s hand as they started to journey down the hall once more, hoping for a break from the terrors of the studio.

But they doubted that was possible.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so tempted to explain what the mark means, but I want something about it to be revealed next chapter. I also want to reveal what it’s doing to Henry as well, but if you’ve seen my original sketches on my tumblr for this au, then you’ll already know (except I didn’t mention the mark in the post, whoops.)
> 
> If you want to see the art, go to trashboatprince on tumblr, search my art tag (John’s art) and you’ll see it, but that’s if you don’t mind spoilers. 
> 
> This was a slow chapter, but I wanted to establish a bit of drama with the Ink Demon, Bendy, and Henry. Especially because there is obviously some sort of relationship between Bendy and “Bendy”, what does them being from the same ink actually mean in this story?
> 
> Also, the dream? A fun bit of spoilers there.
> 
> Welp, thanks for reading, please comment and kudos to let me know how I’m doing! :D


	5. Why Would You Want to Even be Here? When Everything You See is Unclear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Bendy continue to search for the exit, but a battle leads them into more trouble than they could have ever hoped for Henry discovers just how dangerous the ink in this studio is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates, but I did mention in chapter three that things would be slow, what with me finishing up college and all. Also, I’m having trouble trying to figure out how I want to plan all of this out, since things have changed.
> 
> With the release of chapter four, I have to do a lot of work fixing up a few things in this story, so expect changes and updates.
> 
> But I can work with these new updates, I can still repair chunks of the story. Plus, this is an au, I can change things around however I wish to fit both the story and canon. I will have to probably redo the original drawing from chapter one of the Bendy and “Bendy” ink blob, but that could be fun to redraw.
> 
> Sorry for only one drawing this chapter, I had trouble figuring out what to draw.
> 
> On with the fic!

“I’m gettin’ tired…” Bendy whined, dragging his hands against the floorboards as he started to slump forward, about ready to just drop down and sleep right then and there.

Henry rolled his eyes. “For the last time, I’m not carrying you unless if there is an ink spill. And it’s only been about two hours, you’re fine.”

“Easy for you to say, you were unconscious for five hours while I was up an’ awake, frettin’ over you!” The demon pouted. “Now, carry me like da king dat I am!”

He got a hard look from the creator, but Bendy didn’t budge. Henry let out a loud, annoyed groan as he scooped Bendy up into his free arm, the other still carrying the pipe. “I’ll carry you until we’re safe, and that’ll call us even on you savin’ my life.”

“Nope! You still owe me from before when I patched up yer hand, so you owe me two favors to call it even!”

“Bullcrap, punk, I got all that ink off you, that makes up for you bandaging my hand!”

“I got a lotta the ink off as well! So, it doesn’t count!” Bendy huffed, if he had a nose, he’d raise it in the air like he was superior over Henry.

“Uhg, I’m gonna just drop you into a flooded hallway and leave you there to walk through it yourself.” The hold Bendy had on him tightened at his words and Henry glanced at him, seeing a nervous look on the other’s face. “What?”

“You’re…” Bendy glanced at the floor before looking up at him, “You’re not really gonna do dat, yeah? I don’t… I don’t wanna get stuck in da ink. I’m made of it, but what if I fall in, an’ come out as…”

Oh, that’s a concerning thought right there.

What would happen if Bendy fell into the deeper ink?

Would he be okay? Or would it overtake him, and he’d turned into a monster? Henry didn’t like that possibility, so it looked like their best option was to either avoid the flooded halls, or he’d just have to carry the Toon until they were safely across.

“I won’t do it.” Henry finally replied. “I don’t want to take the chance of you getting corrupted by this weird ink. Who knows what it’s really done to you when you came out of the machine. I don’t mind that you have the ability to destroy the Searchers with a single touch, but I also don’t like the idea that you have it. You weren’t designed to kill, you were designed to entertain people.”

Bendy frowned, looking at his hands. “I know, how do ya think I feel, knowin’ I can do dis? I must’ve gotten it from dat other me, but does dat mean he’s got some ability of mine? I don’t have any powers outside of Toon stuff! Does dat mean he can do Toon stuff as well? I wonder… what he can do…”

“I’d rather not think about it.” Henry grumbled. “It’s bad enough it can kill without even touching the creatures, but it looks like it can travel in the ink. At least I’m assuming it can, how else did it jump into that spill so easily? And pop outta that flooded ink when we escaped from Sammy?”

“There’s also da fact dat he can talk to me, in mah head!” He tapped the side of his head as he looked at Henry. “I don’t have dat ability, not even in da cartoons, he’s… he’s not a Toon, but he’s nothin’ like dem Searchers or Sammy… what the heck is he?”

“I don’t know, probably somethin’ Joey created. All I know is that its dangerous and wants us for some reason.” Henry stopped, glancing around. Something wasn’t right… “When’s the last time we were ambushed by monsters?”

“Huh?” Bendy blinked, glancing around and looking over Henry’s shoulder. “I… dunno? Like, a few hours or somethin’? Wait, dat… can’t be a good sign.”

Henry started walking again, faster. “We haven’t seen a Searcher or that other you in forever. We haven’t even found an exit. And… I think we’ve passed these halls and doors before. Ah crap, have we been walking around in circles?! Are we lost? At least… are we more lost than we were before?”

The demon whipped his head around. “Good golly Ms. Molly, I think yer right! We’ve been walkin’ around these halls several times, we’ve just been goin’ down different paths an’ windin’ up in the same places! Uuuuuhhhhhgggg…! What is up wit’ dis studio?! It’s not suppose to be like this! It’s not, it’s suppose to be a place for creatin’ cartoons, for makin’ people laugh an’ smile! It’s not suppose to be a place full of death!”

The animator wanted to say something, but he noticed that ink was dripping from Bendy’s face, his single pupil was so tiny, practically a single little dot of ink in a sea of yellow. Did Bendy even notice that ink was starting to slip out between his teeth. “Bendy…?”

A sharp, echoing whistling tune catch Henry’s attention and he turned, trying to figure out where the source was coming from. That was the whistle from before… he looked at Bendy, seeing his odd eye begin to turn gray. “Bendy, Bendy…! We gotta run, its coming, that other you is moving in the halls again..!”

Bendy gasped, snapping out of whatever angry daze he was in. He heard the whistling as it got closer and jumped out of Henry’s arms, beginning to run down a hall, the human following close behind. They threw open a door at random, surprised to find that it didn’t show a room, it showed a flight of stairs that went up. Bendy shut the door and shoved a broken chunk of board up under the knob, just in case. “Maybe this’ll help! It let’s us go upstairs, maybe we can get back to da first-floor wit’ it!”

“It’s worth a shot and better than being out there!” Henry started to run up the stairs with Bendy close behind, just as the inky lines began to creep under the door.

They got up about two more flights before finding that there weren’t anymore, that there was just a door. Throwing it open, Bendy found that it was just another hallway, one that was splattered in ink. “Oh cheese ‘n crackers! Looks like a massacre happened here!”

Henry stepped forwards, looking at all of the ink that was on the walls and floor, spots and splatters were even on the ceiling. He reached out, touching a bit of the black liquid on the wall, finding it to be bone dry. “This is old, this wasn’t recent at all. But… we shouldn’t stay here, who knows what did all of this…”

Bendy stared at the mess, his hands twitching. He knew who did this, it was the other version of him, that “Bendy”. He could just sense it, this had to be his work, it was obvious. “We just gotta keep movin’… there’s gotta be a different route we can take.”

“We’ll just have to find it.” Henry stepped down the hall, grabbing doorknobs, finding them locked, or the room was useless to them. “What the hell is up with this place? It’s a never-ending sea of doors and halls, I feel like a rat in a maze.”

“I guess Joey had big plans for dis place, too bad it was all for nothin’. Whatever he wanted to do probably didn’t happen! At least not with how crappy this place is.” The demon kicked a chunk of board across the floor, shoving his hands into pockets that magically seemed to appear on his hips. Right, toon logic.

“Joey always did like to do things big and obnoxious.”

“… Say, Henry, what was Joey like? Before… all dis? I mean, I… kinda remember him being enthusiastic an’ commandin’, but there was always somethin’ behind dat smile of his. Like there was more to him then meets da eye. He seemed so fake about his joy, like he was up to somethin’ bad.”

Henry rolled his shoulders, hearing a pop, as he walked with his creation. “I met Joey when I was three, he was six. He was always a man of ideas, always had some plan in mind for somethin’ or whatever. I was the lacky, the hands guy, while he was the brains of the operation. But he was my best friend, and he was smart, really smart. He was advance for his age, that’s what his mother always said. I remember him tryin’ to always be better than me, but he was shit at drawin’, at bein’ creative.”

The human chuckled a little. “Sure, he had ideas and stuff, but he never had all the details, that’s where I came in. When we were kids, I told him I wanted to make cartoons, I wanted to make a character the whole world would know. He decided to help me with that dream, and you know what?”

“What?” Bendy asked, tilting his head.

“He… did help me, he made my dreams come true.” He hated that he basically quoted the first ominous message he had seen when coming here, but it was true. “Too bad he tainted it, damaged it with whatever stupid idea he had. Joey Drew Studios was a simple animation studio, where we made cartoons to entertain the masses, it wasn’t meant to be turned into Satan’s animation industry. No offense.”

“None taken, I get dat you’re not too keen on da fact dat Joey may have been makin’ deals with a devil to make all of dis.” The imp gestured to the walls. “If it were me, I wouldn’t have been messin’ around wit dat! Keep the devil stuff to the cartoons, yeah? An’ to me, of course, cause I am a demon after all.” He smirked.

“Kinda wish that’s what happened, at least you came out of this mess, and that’s a good thing.”

“Yer darn right about dat!” Bendy laughed before hearing a loud splat behind them. Turning, he noticed a Searcher had come up from between the boards. “Cheese on rye, one of ‘em found us!” He rolled ups his sleeves, which he actually didn’t have, and approached, slapping it, watching it die. “There, finished!” He smiled, dusting off his hands.

Henry was about to comment, when he saw more ink bubbling up from the spaces between boards. “Ah, I don’t think we’re finished just yet there, kiddo…” He raised his pipe and moved forward, smashing in the head of a Searcher as it was still forming. It let out a pained moan before it vanished.

Bendy punched one right in the chest, not liking that it seemed like that each one they killed, another took its place. “We might be in a bit of a pickle, ol’ man.” Bendy commented as he shoved one out of the way. “Guess they decided to outnumber us this time.”

“Looks like it, probably all the ones that have been lookin’ for us for hours now.” Henry swung, only to have the pipe grabbed tightly by a Searcher. “Wha-?” He felt his legs clamped onto by some more of the creatures.

He hadn’t realized that as he fought, he had stepped into their ink puddles, and they clearly had an advantage over him with the ink.

This… might be a problem.

He struggled to get the pipe back, but he was knocked off his feet, slamming onto his chest, knocking the air out of him. He gagged on ink as he tried to gasp for air. He heard Bendy call out his name, but as Henry reached out to the demon, he realized that he was sinking into the puddle, it was MUCH deeper than it should be on a flat surface like the floor.

“Bendy…!” He called out to him, but the name came out as a harsh, wheezing gasp before a Searcher slapped a hand over his mouth. His eyes widened in fear as he could see Bendy reaching for him, their fingers just brushing before Henry was yanked into the ink.

Bendy watched in absolute horror as Henry’s head vanished into the puddle, the Searchers swarming over his body, until Bendy only saw the tips of his fingers before they too disappeared into the ink.

And then he was gone.

The Toon just stood there, his eyes wide as he felt tears prick at them. “H-Henry…?” He whispered over the returning moans of the Searchers as they started to rise out of the ink, ready to pull him in as well.

Henry… Henry was gone? Taken into the ink?

Was he… did he just…

No… no, no, nononononononononononononono! He can’t be gone! He can’t be d- he can’t be…!

Something snapped in Bendy’s mind, a loud crack. He rushed forward with a scream, decapitating a Searcher with ease, its head splattered on the wall with a swipe of the demon’s hand.

**_“I’LL KILL YOU ALL! GIVE ME BACK MY CREATOR!”_ **

\--

Henry felt like he was drifting underwater, he knew something was around him, but he also felt like something wasn’t, like he was just… floating in nothingness.

He didn’t dare open his eyes, he didn’t want to know what was out there, out there among the voices. Yes, he could hear them, the voices from before, the screams and cries, the begging, the questioning. He could hear some things clearly in this place he ended up, it was strange. It was like trying to hear something under water, so much water, but it also felt like it was a thick liquid, like jelly or something. It’s weird, all these voices, why were some loud and others quiet. Some sounded normal, but others sounded backwards, distorted.

So many voices, so many he could hear and understand.

_“The deadline is coming up! Where are the backgrounds!?”_

_“I just want to go home…”_

_“I better get overtime for this.”_

_“Hello? Hello? I think I’m lost.”_

_“I should have listened to ‘em, I shouldn’t have come back…!”_

_“Oh no, is he close…? Please, I don’t want to go back again, I don’t!”_

_“Joey Drew is a dead man when I see him again!”_

_“I didn’t finish my work, what do I do? What do I do?_

_“Someone please kill me…! I don’t want to live like this anymore!”_

_“Ain’t gonna get anythin’ done in dis place…”_

_“Alright Joey, I’m here. Let’s see if we can find what you wanted me to see.”_

Hm, that last one sounded a lot like himself, but it could just be a phantom memory. Henry felt like he recognized some of these voices, but at the same time they sounded completely new to him. Where was he, who was talking? Was this place terrible, it didn’t feel bad, it felt… nice, like, it was inviting him to just sleep, he wanted to sleep…

**You shouldn’t sleep, not in this place. You sleep here, and you end up as just another lost voice.**

_What?_

**Ah, you can hear me.**

_I… I hear a lot of voices. But why are you coming out so clear?_

**I’m talking to you mentally, Henry. The others can’t do that.**

It was weird, the voice sounded… familiar, but Henry couldn’t place it for the life of him. _Why are you speaking to me? Where am I?_ He tried to open his eyes to see where he was, but the other voice hissed at him.

**Do not open your eyes, at least… not both of them. Only your right eye, only open that. Yes, that’s the one, the one that will let you see the ink correctly… You will see in here with it, the other will see… the worst the ink has to offer.**

Henry didn’t like the sound of that, but he slowly opened his right eye, blinking a few times. He was in darkness, but he could oddly see it moving about. There were white marks around in the darkness, like brush strokes. Then Henry realized that they were moving, and that they weren’t white marks, they were reflections of light, from somewhere in the darkness. They moved about, swirling about in the ink. He could still hear the voices, but he couldn’t tell what they were saying now, it was liking hearing things from a distance.

 _What is this place?_ He asked the voice.

**The ink. The dark puddles, as I’ve heard them be called. They are a cold, heartless place, full of too many lost souls and voices that cannot be freed. At least… not right now.**

_… What the… did Joey-?_

**You need to leave. I can’t have you being in here, not yet at least, heh. No… you are too important, a major key in my plans against him.**

_Against who?_

**Now is not the time for that question, you will learn soon enough. You need to leave.**

Henry frowned, looking around. _How do I leave? And just who are you? Why do you want to help me if everythin’ in this place, except Bendy, wants me dead?_

The voice was silent for a moment. **I will open a portal for you, seeing as you do not seem to know how to focus on one yourself. Then again, you are not as familiar to the ink or the studio as I am, it has been thirty years. The portal will bring you to where you need to go to reunite with the Devil Darling. He needs you, he’s gone a bit… crazy with grief, hehehehe, it’s an interesting display from someone with such a sweet smile.**

What? Henry saw something in the darkness shift, and he saw a bright light, illuminating the swirling ink. It looked like a tunnel had opened up, and Henry took a step forward before a vague shape shoved him and he gasped for air, blinded by sudden light as he was knocked to the floor. He panted, his body shook, his muscles were painfully tensed as he stared at the ground. What… what happened?

He nervously looked around, taking note that he was in a small corner of a hallway, next to a creepy looking Bendy statue that seemed to be staring down at him. How did he get here? And where exactly was here? “Bendy?” He called out, hoping the demon was still close.

He didn’t hear anything, at first, until there was a loud scream of rage from somewhere above him. Henry stumbled as he got to his feet and bolted down the hall, looking for a stairwell. “Bendy!” Whatever made that loud scream better not be anywhere near his friend! Throwing open a door at random, Henry was so thankful to find the stairwell from before and rushed up the stairs to the next floor, finding a huge mess.

Oh yes, the dry splatter was still there, but there was absolute chaos in the hall that was quite fresh. Ink was _everywhere_ , walls had deep scratches in them, and it was a disaster. “Bendy…” Henry shook as he stared at the mess, oh no… oh god, did something… was Bendy…

“No… no, no, not him…” He tried to find any sign of Bendy in the inky carnage, but there was nothing, no sign of his little devil anywhere.

He found his pipe though, it looked to be snapped in half. He picked up the end with the faucet and began to walk. He was going to find whoever it was that did this and hurt them in return…

Another scream echoed down the hall and Henry began to run. He turned sharply when he came to the T at the end, surprised at what he found.

It was Bendy! Oh, thank god, he was alive! But… there was something very wrong with him.

His horns looked longer, one slightly longer than the other, his gloves were soaked in ink, the rounded tips were now pointed and sharp. He was facing Henry’s direction as he charged towards a Searcher, the ink creatures might be what was splattered around the halls now that Henry thought about it.

The most frightening thing about Bendy was his face. His ink was running, his mouth was set in a snarl with sharp teeth instead of their normal appearance.

And his eyes, good lord, both of them were completely off-model. The yellow of his eyes blazed a bright gold, his pupils were tiny pinpricks, and his left eye’s white was black. Tears were running down his cheeks as he splattered the Searcher, painting the walls with more ink.

Bendy stood there, hunched over, panting hard as he looked around for more of the creatures. “ _Come out an’ fight me, you freaks!”_ He screeched loudly, his voice sounded distorted, echoed. When he didn’t see any, he screamed, just like the two previous ones Henry had heard.

What happened to Bendy, why was he acting like this?!

“Bendy…?”

The demon turned, about to attack, but he froze when he stared at Henry. He looked shocked, scared, but so relieved, yet there was obvious confusion mixed in. _“H… Henry…?”_ He whimpered before he inhaled sharply, and rushed towards the human, latching onto him tightly. _“Henry! Oh god, you’re alive!”_ He sobbed, his hold was tight, his claws were starting to dig into Henry’s back.

“Yeah, I’m alive… Bendy, are you okay? What happened?” He asked softly, rubbing Bendy’s back. He tensed up for a moment when he felt a sharp pain in his right eye, what the heck? No, he'll worry about that in a second, Bendy had his attention now, he'd deal with that weird moment of pain in a second. At least it's turned into a fading ache now.

“You died, you died in front of me an’ I couldn’t save ya…” Bendy hiccupped, his voice sounded normal now. “I couldn’t save ya… _so I killed those who killed you…_ ” The claws dug in deeper and Henry tensed up, but he didn’t say anything. “Dis… dis voice, in mah head, said dat cause I couldn’t save ya, didn’t mean I couldn’t avenge ya, Henry. So dat’s what I did, I slaughtered those monsters…”

He paused, shuddering. “Monsters… am… am I a monster? For what I did?”

“You… you’re not a monster, you were just tryin’ to help me.”

“But I killed so many…! Cause I was so angry…!” Bendy exclaimed, pulling back to look at Henry, his eyes still off-model, but at least the left one returned to normal. “How are you here? I saw ya, ya went into da ink…!”

Henry frowned, giving a little shrug. “Hell if I know, kid. I was in this strange place, the ink, and a voice told me to go to you. It pushed me out, it was… weird. I found myself out of the darkness and in a hallway below this one, in front of a statue of you. There were so many voices in there, so many asking for help or just talkin’, and… I felt like sleepin’, I wanted to sleep so badly, but the voice told me not to.” He looked down at Bendy, seeing the other giving him a strange, concerned look. “What?”

“Your… your eye…”

“What about it?”

Bendy just pointed at him, and Henry reached up, touching at his cheek. He suddenly noticed it was wet, was he crying? No, what came off on his hand was ink, a watery ink, like when Bendy was crying. “What…? Where did this come from?”

“Your eye’s leakin’ ink… it’s… what color are yer eyes?”

“Green… why do you ask?”

“It’s yellow, your right eye is yellow!”

Henry froze at this. His right eye… was yellow…? But how was that possible? Did something happen when he was in the ink…?

**_Only your right eye, only open that. Yes, that’s the one, the one that will let you see the ink correctly…_ **

The voice in the ink, it had told him to open his right eye. It was the eye that kept twitching when the other Bendy was close, it was the one that hurt when he was knocked out in the pentagram. It’s been acting up all day, since he fell down the hole. He rubbed at the ink under his eye, but no matter how much he rubbed, there was just more fresh ink.

“Bendy… what’s happening to me?” He asked, staring at the Toon.

“… I think… the Studio is happenin’ to ya, Henry.” Bendy pointed to his own eye. “Dis ain’t normal, I didn’t have dis until I came outta da machine with dat other me. We gotta get outta here! Before it gets worse…!”

Henry just slowly nodded before he looked at his right hand. “Did this… do it? No, no, I felt something was wrong with my eye since I got here, since I fell through the hole… Bendy, do you know what could have happened?”

“All dis ink here is bad, I just know it!” Bendy got out of his hold and started pacing the floor. “It made all these monsters, dat other me is coated in da stuff, I’m different! Look at me! My eye ain’t normal an’ neither is what I did to all dem Searchers! An’ Sammy… he was like a Searcher, except…?”

“More human.” Henry touched his hand, the mark. It felt cold compared to the rest of him. “What do you think the ink will do to me? I don’t feel different, outside of my eye leaking inky tears. My hand doesn’t really… hurt, there’s just a weird feelin’. Do you really not remember much of the marks?”

Bendy shook his head. “All I know is dat they can’t be good.”

“When… I was unconscious, after we escaped Sammy… I had a dream.”

This caught the demon’s attention. “A dream?”

“Yeah, about the day I presented your sketches to Joey to approve you as our mascot character. Joey started to turn into a monster of some sort, covered in ink. He had a mark on his left hand, it looked like this, but it was upside-down. Black, spider web-like marks were coming from it, kinda like the other you makes. It was weird, do you think… there’s some sorta power to these marks?”

“Power?” Bendy blinked, taking his hand to look at the mark, giving it a few pokes. “I dunno, it feels like ink to me, like… fresh ink. Maybe you’re gonna leak ink from your hand?”

“That sounds like an inconvenience.”

“Try it! Let’s see if ya leak ink outta your hand an’ not just your eye!”

Henry looked at him, unsure. He let out a soft sigh as he stared at his hand, the ink wasn’t doing much of anything. It looked just like he had spilt the ebony liquid on his hand and it just so happened to take on the appearance of Bendy’s head. He’s gotten the stuff on his hands many times while animating Bendy, how was him focusing on it gonna do any-

He felt something in his palm, a pressure, of something pushing against the skin from the inside. He watched in horror as a small pool of ink poured out of his skin and started to rise. Bendy gasped, eyes wide as saucers as he watched the ink move on its own, taking shape. It struggled a little as it formed a familiar shape, becoming a tiny Bendy, about two or three inches tall, solid black. In the dim light of the emergency lights in the hall, Henry and Bendy could see it had the demon’s face, it reminded Henry of the statue he had been in front of a while ago.

Then it moved.

Henry and Bendy both let out a scream and Henry almost threw the inky Bendy across the hall, but it latched onto his thumb. It felt cold and wet as it clung to him. “W-What is this thing?!”

“It’s a tiny me! How’d ya do dat?!”

“I don’t know! I was just thinkin’ about how I use to get ink on my hands when I was creatin’ you for episodes..!” The little ink Bendy perked up at this, looking at Henry with its big, black eyes. Henry stared at it before moving his hand to let it crawl back onto his palm.

It looked up at him, still smiling, before it started to do a little dance. Bendy watched, letting out a small chuckle. “Gotta admit, da li’l guy’s got some pretty sweet rhythm in those tiny feet.”

“I created it…” Henry mumbled, looking at his hand again. Could he… make another one?

Ink started to seep through his skin again and the ink Bendy stepped back, watching as another one appeared and looked around. “You made another one!” Bendy grinned. “Dat’s amazin’, Henry!”

“I guess so. Is… this my ink power or whatever? Like your one-touch kill thing?”

“Maybe?” Bendy reached over, holding out his hand. One of the ink Bendys happily jumped onto his palm, but the other missed and dropped to the ground with a splat, leaving a small puddle. “… They’re not stable.”

“No, I don’t think they’re meant to last.” The human sighed, watching the remaining one looking nervously at the ground before its body quivered. It gave a small wave before it dissolved into a puddle. Henry watched as the ink dripped off of Bendy’s hand before he looked at the demon. “Maybe we can use them to our advantage.”

“What do ya mean?”

“I can make them it seems, maybe I can use them as a distraction in battle? Get some of those Searchers off our backs while we mow them down?”

“Hmm, don’t like da idea dat I gotta see tiny versions of me gettin’ turned into bait, but it could work! I guess da ink is bein’ nice and havin’ ya be creative then destructive wit’ yer powers.”

“I guess.” Henry looked at the mark with a concerned expression. “But we’ll see if anything changes, let’s just… work with what I’ve got right now. And hopefully, when we leave, all of this will go away. I don’t think I’ll be able to explain why I’ve got a yellow eye and can make inky versions of you.” He wasn’t even sure how he’d explain to people about Bendy, but that’s something he can worry about for later.

Henry winced, his eye hurt. He glanced down at Bendy, seeing that the other’s eye was turning gray. “Shit, we gotta go.” He whispered, grabbing Bendy’s hand. They made their way back to the stairwell, maybe there could be another escape route, but they stopped when they saw the inky trails gathering around the open doorway.

Nope, that route won’t work! They’d have to go back to the T intersection and go down one of those ways!

The duo ran down the hall, turning the opposite way from where Bendy had slaughtered Searchers, hearing loud creaking sounds from the floorboards. Bendy didn’t like the sound of that, they were getting louder as Henry ran. The floors were soaked with ink in this area, the walls were dripping from broken pipes.

Bendy realized that this wasn’t a good idea, this reminded him too much of what happened upstairs! “Henry we gotta-!” He was cut off when the floor gave out under them. He looked at Henry, it was as if time slowed down in that moment as they made eye contact. They fell, and slammed into the floor below, but that didn’t last long as the rotten, ink-soaked wood beneath them also gave out and they fell another floor.

Henry let out a sharp, horrible sound when he slammed onto the wet floor. Bendy grunted, he saw white when he hit the ground, but it was over a moment later, though the pain in his body was still present. “Uhhhhggg… anyone got da number of dat truck…?” He groaned, rolling onto his back. “Henry…?”

He looked at the human, letting out a yelp as he stared at the unconscious man. He was breathing, but it wasn’t normal, nor was it like the feverish gasps from before. These sounded pained, and blood trickled out of his mouth. “H-Henry..! Oh no, no, come on! I just gotcha back..!”

His eye stung and he realized that the other him was close. Slowly, Bendy glanced up, seeing the large holes they had made, and someone staring down at them. It was the other Bendy, it just stood there, tall and smiling, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything malicious or dangerous.

If anything, it seemed rather… curious, as it stood there.

**_He’s not dead, he’s not gonna die…_ **

“W-What?” He blinked, looking at his counterpart.

Bendy watched as the other Bendy pointed his more human-looking hand at Henry’s unconscious form. **_He’s not dead. But he’s hurt. Someone is coming..._** With that, the other Bendy turned away, out of sight.

“Come back! Hey!” The demon called out, shaking like a leaf, before he heard a small clatter. Turning, he watched as a can of bacon soup came rolling into view from around a corner. “H-Hello? Is someone there? I know you’re in here, come out and show yourself…” He frowned, kneeling next to Henry, ready to fight just in case.

Something shifted from behind the corner and a figure came into view, dressed in tan overalls and black boots, along with cartoony, white gloves.

Bendy stared on shock and awe at the arrival of the other, no, it couldn’t be, but…

“Boris?”

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still not over how I was pretty much correct on what the ink looks like when Henry is in it. The only thing I had wrong was that someone opens the portal to get out for Henry in this, and that there are multiple voice, while in-game, the portal is already opened and the only voice I hear is Henry’s own, speaking his lines from the previous chapters.
> 
> But still, ha! That’s awesome!
> 
> Next chapter: Bendy and Henry have a new ally, Boris the Wolf! But how is he alive? Why is he hiding in a safe room? And who exactly is he hiding from? Does anyone remember the studio being this big?
> 
> Thanks for reading, please comment and kudos!


	6. Ain't it Nice to be Underground with a Good Ol' Friend Like Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Bendy have a new friend and ally in their attempt to escape, but what lies beyond the door of the safe room?
> 
> How did this place get so big?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter six, where the game-plot returns, and John the writer tries to figure out how make this work with Bendy added to the mix.
> 
> On with the fic!

Slowly, Henry opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling where a spinning fan welcomed him. He could faintly hear music from another room, and a Boris poster for _Sheep Songs_ greeted him happily back into the waking world.

Hmm… poetic thoughts, weird, but whatever.

Yawning, Henry sat up on the cot he had been using as a bed for about three days now, or at least that’s what he’s assumed. His watch broke during the fall, and the cute, Bendy clock here in the bedroom might not be correct, at least Boris had done a good job of attempting to fix the watch, but it was a useless cause, the watch was broke.

Boris, right… he was here, and alive!

Henry had been unconscious for the majority of the first day in the safe room Boris took him and Bendy to, he needed to heal after that nasty fall. It was strange, it should have killed him, or at least left him in a worst state than he was now. Yet, Henry felt alright, he ached in places, and had some fading bruises, but it was so bizarre that he healed so well.

Bendy suggested that it had to be the mark on his hand, the ink in his body. Just like the claw marks on Bendy’s back having healed up so quickly, Henry’s body healed up after so much needed rest.

But during that time, Bendy had been so worried and scared, luckily Boris was there to take care of him. He is a really good boy, even though he doesn’t talk.

When Henry finally woke up, he got to properly meet the taller Toon. Boris was completely silent, but other than that, he looked exactly as his cartoon counterpart. He was also very friendly and helpful, if not a bit of a scary cat, considering that they heard something thumping about and he panicked. He was also rather good at cleaning and fixing things up around the safe house he had been living in for who-knows how long.

There was something… familiar about him though, but Henry couldn’t put his finger on it. Well, of course he knew it was Boris, a living one, but there was just something about him though that reminded Henry of someone. But he couldn’t figure out who it was…

And then there’s the fact that Boris is clearly alive, when the last time Henry saw him, he was dead with his chest wide open!

Uhg, his head was hurting just thinking about this… getting up, Henry made his way out of the room and down to the bathroom. He was so happy when he saw that the pipes here, at least for the sinks, ran fresh, ink-free water. He took a drink of water from the empty can of soup that sat by one of the sinks before looking himself in the mirror.

The former animator looked better than he had when he woke up, the scratches and such were healing nicely, much faster than they should, hell, some were completely gone. However, he was more focused on his eye.

It was still a bright yellow, the same shade as Bendy’s, but that was the only change to it. It didn’t look cartoony, nor did it look demonic. It looked just like its counterpart, but not green. He sighed through his nose before splashing his face with water, drying off on an old bit of fabric Boris had. It looked like an old, torn shirt with a plaid design on it. Reminded him of Wally, but he really hoped it hadn’t belonged to the janitor.

Speaking of shirts, his clothing should be cleaned and dried by now. Boris had offered to wash the other’s clothes for him, and for now, Henry’s been walking around in a tank top he had been wearing and a spare pair of pants that Boris had. They were obviously work pants for someone in construction, where did they come from?

Then again, the studio has clearly went through some major renovations, so that might be where the pants came from. Whatever, it was something sorta clean to wear, and it wasn’t bogged down with ink, he was fine with it.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Henry walked into another area, seeing Boris sitting at a table, with Bendy sitting across from him. Both had playing cards in their hands, a pile of bottle caps in front of them as a gentle, yet happy, song played from the phonograph that sat beside them.

Bendy perked up when he saw Henry, grinning brightly as he waved at him with his free hand. “Hiya, buddy! Sleep well?”

“Yeah, did you? Seems like you two have been up for a while.” Henry commented as he leaned against the doorframe, smiling at the Toons. The Bendy clock in the bedroom had said it was about three, though that didn’t tell Henry if it was three in the morning or afternoon, nor did it tell him if it was the correct time. Either way, they were all awake now after having slept for a while.

“We slept just fine, been up fer probably an hour. I woke up an’ played wit’ Boris’ banjo fer a li’l bit, an’ then he joined me. I’m surprised ya slept through it!”

“I can be a heavy sleeper sometimes.” Henry replied before glancing over at the door. It was their main way out, the other one was… through the vents, and those were dangerous. How Boris got his unconscious body through the vents with Bendy’s help, Henry will never know.

Bendy chuckled before looking at Boris. “Well then, read ‘em an’ weep!” He set down his hand, looking rather proud of himself.

Boris silently chuckled before he set down his own cards, and Bendy did a comedy double-take at the hand. He pouted, seeing that Boris was laughing more, before he sighed dramatically. “I just can’t win at dis game like you two.”

“Well, you’ve never played before we came here.” Henry had plenty of experience, he actually first learned while here in the studio. He got invited to play with Norman, Sammy, Thomas, and Wally, it had been a fun night with them playing poker with a can of mixed nuts that Norman had for the chips.

He smiled a little at the memory before he approached the table, his expression becoming more serious. “Bendy, we’ve rested long enough.”

The demon gripped the edge of the table, not looking up at Henry. “Can’t… can’t we just stay here? We’re safe here wit’ Boris, we don’t gotta worry about da Searchers, or dat other me…”

“Bendy, we gotta go. We can’t live here in the studio, and I have a life outside of this place. Besides, I promised that I would get us out, don’t you wanna leave?”

Bendy finally looked up at him, mix-matched eyes full of worry and hesitation. He glanced over at Boris, who seemed a bit confused, the wolf then turned to look at the door. He looked up at Henry, holding up a hand. Boris reached over, handing him an empty bowl with a spoon, the awkward smile on his face basically screamed ‘can you make me soup first’?

“You wanna eat?” Henry asked, and got a nod in reply, before Boris picked up something else. A tool box, it was locked, and the wolf was gently tapping his finger on it.

Henry had a very strong feeling that the handle to the door, which the animator had noticed was missing the other day, was in that box.

Clever boy.

“Fine, I’ll make you soup. Bendy, help me find a few cans, we could do with some food.” Even though it’s the same damn thing they’ve been eating since Henry first arrived at the studio. Bendy sighed loudly and jumped out of his seat. He moved towards the little kitchen area to get the can he had noticed earlier while Henry went to get one from a shelf nearby.

The Toon glanced to his left, shuddering at the image on the wall. It was something he had noticed earlier, a collaboration of torn up posters and cutouts of him, Boris, and Alice Angel. It was a mess, the torn-up pieces were put together to create some sort of monster made out of cartoon characters. He had asked Boris about it earlier, but the taller Toon had just given him a sad, scared look, as if to say, ‘I don’t wanna talk about it’.

Bendy sighed softly as he grabbed the can of soup and moved to find something to open it while Henry went off to find another can. The imp glanced over his shoulder at the cartoon wolf, who was happily nodding his head to the music that played softly in the room.

As happy as Bendy was to see his beloved pal Boris again, there was just something… strange about him.

He remembered Boris talking, having a goofy voice with an accent, but now he was silent. He remembered Boris being sassy and headstrong, sometimes rough around the edges yet still having a heart of gold, though now he’s nervous but attempts to be cheerful.

He also… doesn’t seem to remember Bendy that well.

Did something happen to him when Bendy was in the machine? How long was he in there? How much… has changed…? Was Alice still the same? He hoped she was, he also hoped they could find her. Maybe she was somewhere beyond the door, out… in the rest of the studio. As much as Bendy didn’t want to leave the safe house, Henry was right, they needed to move on.

They were both healed up, and they could probably do well to keep going. Plus, they had Boris with them! And Bendy could destroy Searchers with a touch, while Henry could make the ink copies of the Li’l Devil Darlin’! Henry had practiced making Bendys yesterday, and it seems all he has to do is think about them, and they slipped out of the cut on his mark.

They didn’t last long, the longest that lived was about five minutes, but that was enough time to be used as a quick defense.

Also, Henry’s eye wasn’t leaking anymore, so that was a bonus. But they were still trying to figure out what was up with the change in color, and if Bendy’s eye was of any importance, outside of being a warning.

The Toon used an old screwdriver to open up the can of soup, pouring it into the pot on the stove as Henry returned with two cans. “Here we go, this should be enough for all of us to have a bite to eat before we- what’s wrong?” Henry asked, noticing the look on his friend’s face.

Bendy glanced up, a small smile on his face. “Ah, just… wonderin’ if we’ll find Alice here, an’ if we’ll be okay with travelin’. I mean, you don’t have yer axe or pipe anymore, do you think you’ll be okay to fight? If ya want, I can do da fightin’ until we find ya somethin’ new to use.”

Henry shook his head. “I’ll figure somethin’ out, I don’t want you doin’ all the work. I mean, you can fight, but…”

A silence hung in the air, both knew what Henry was referring to.

What happened back in the hallway, when Bendy had witnessed Henry’s ‘death’, and had lost himself to his anger.

He had… well… Bendy would consider himself a monster for what he had done, no matter how often Henry would tell him otherwise. He slaughtered those Searchers in a blind rage, what would have happened if he had encountered something that hadn’t been one of those? What if he hadn’t snapped out of it at the last second when he saw Henry, and had hurt him?

What if he had become something worse?

“I promise, dat ain’t gonna happen again, it only happened when I thought you were… well… dead.”

“I know,” Henry replied, “and to be honest, I was probably about ten seconds away from doin’ the same thing you did on those Searchers. I thought you were dead.” His voice softened as he looked at the Toon.

“You weren’t turnin’ into a monster.” Bendy stated.

Henry shook his head. “Depends on who you ask. Come on, don’t think to much on it, we’re both safe, we’re both in control of ourselves, and we have a good boy with us who will help. Said good boy is also waitin’ for his soup, so let’s make it.” He took the screwdriver, opening the cans he had with it.

As Henry prepared the soup, using what little spices and flavorings Boris somehow accumulated in his kitchen, he looked over at the two Toons who had started chatting once more. Bendy happily spoke to Boris, explaining that he was gonna come with them, to see the outside world!

Boris tilted his head, blinking, his ears twitching in confusion. Henry saw a look cross Boris’ face, something he couldn’t quite read, but he… thought it might be sadness. Though his attention turned to joy when Henry approached with three bowls, carefully balanced in his arms. He set them down on the table. “Alright, everyone dig in, we’re gonna need the strength, who knows how much we have left to trek in this place. Boris, do you know?”

The wolf ate a spoonful of soup before giving the question some thought. He shrugged before making a face. He perked up as he reached over, taking the score sheet they had been using for their card games and a pencil, writing on the back of it. He slipped it to Henry, who read the message.

‘I try not to leave, but what I remember is that this place is huge. We’re gonna need to find the elevator, it could take us back up to an exit, cause the further down we go, the hard it is to find one.’

“You can write?” Bendy asked, looking at his friend, who turned to him, looking clueless. The demon returned to his soup, wondering what that was about. Boris never wrote anything to them to respond to their questions, nor did he even give any hint he could!

Boris was… weird, there’s something odd about him. But then again, Bendy had no room to talk.

Henry looked over the note again, before glancing up at the ceiling. “Well, guess we’ll have to find the elevator. Boris, do you know where the elevator is.” He got a nod in response, which was a good answer. The wolf pushed the tool box closer to Henry, who opened it. Yep, he was right, there was the handle.

Once they finished eating, Boris got up, motioning for them to wait a second, before he went down the hall. He returned shortly with a small bag with a shoulder strap. He smiled as he gave it to the human. Inside were Henry’s clothes, a spare shirt, and two cans of soup. There also seemed to be a canteen of sorts, with water inside. “Thanks, Boris.” He smiled as he put on the extra shirt. It was a black work shirt, which might do well against the ink in this place.

He threw the bag over his shoulder and picked up the handle. “Are you two ready to go?”

Bendy gave a reluctant nod, but Boris nodded happily, before he held something up. Both the demon and the human winced when they realized that it was, well, a long leg bone. They watched as the wolfish Toon happily put it in his mouth, gently nibbling on it.

“Riiiiiiiight. So, shall we?” Bendy forced a grin, taking the handle form his creator, walking over to the door. With a frowned, he slipped it into the slots, hearing a click, before he pulled down. The door opened with no problem and they looked out beyond it. Bendy stepped out first, removing his head to hold in his hands to peek around the doorway. All he saw was an empty hallway, with something at the end of it.

“It’s clear.” He put his head back in place and started to move out, followed by Henry and Boris. As the wolf slipped out, the doors slammed shut behind them. Guess they weren’t going back in any time soon.

Henry turned away from the doors. “Follow me, stay close, and if we have to, be prepared to fight.” He hoped he’d find something to use as a weapon along the way. Maybe a wrench or another pipe? What he wouldn’t give for his axe again.

His attention was taken away from his thoughts as he saw what sat at the end of the hall, at the turn. It was a strange box, almost like a wooden outhouse. There was a door, with a slot cut into it, like an eyehole. Above it was a sign.

“’Little Miracle Station’?” He questioned, before opening the door. “What the heck is this? You two ever seen anythin’ like it before?”

“Not dat I can recall.” Bendy replied, while Boris gave a shrug.

Henry slipped inside, sitting down on the small seat, seeing as it was rather small inside, even for someone of his height. He closed the door, peeking out the slot. He saw Boris, chewing on his bone, while Bendy looked at him confused, tilting his head, then he spotted a Bendy cutout next to his creation.

He opened the door and stepped out. “Whatever it is, I have a feelin’ that it might be helpful to us at some point, if we have to come back here.”

Bendy snorted, crossing his arms. “I don’t like it, somethin’ is really fishy about it. What’s wit’ da weird circle thing, on da door?”

Glancing back, Henry saw the circle. Actually, it was more like an oval, tilted, and painted on in ink. “I don’t know, and let’s not bother with it. Come on.”

The toons looked at one another before following Henry a few more steps, until they saw only darkness ahead of them. “It’s really dark up ahead.” Henry commented. “Let’s find some light.”

“This?” Bendy picked up something off of a desk next to them. He pushed a button and yelped, blinded for a moment by the light that came from the device. “H-here, take it! Ow!” He rubbed at his eyes while he held out the flashlight. Henry took it from him with a thanks, looking at the flashlight. It was clunky, metal, with the word GENT engraved on it.

He was the first to walk into the darkness, followed by Bendy, but he looked over his shoulder to see Boris. The taller Toon was shaking, covering his eyes, his ears folded back. “Don’t be scared, Boris.” Bendy smiled, holding out his hand to him.

“Just stay close to the light, we’ll protect you.” Henry replied softly. Boris peeked between his fingers, nervously smiling around the bone, before stepping into the darkness with them. He took Bendy’s hand and started to follow Henry as he led the way, the light ahead of them.

From what they could see, the hallway had many turns and corners, all the walls were machinery. They were moving, pumping, cranking, it was strange. Why was there so much machinery in a cartoon studio? Was it because of the Ink Machine? Was there more to this place than just-

**_Thumpthumpthumpthump_ **

The three paused and stood quietly, hearing the thumping over the sounds of the moving, metal walls. “Did you hear that?” Henry whispered, looking at his companions.

Boris and Bendy looked at him, both acting in denial.

“Yeah… me either.” Henry replied, deciding to ignore the sounds of footsteps above them. He was going to ignore the sounds like he had earlier in the music department, or when he was wandering the first floor on his own. The moans, the thumping in the pipes… too many things to assume, too many things to worry about when he had enough problems here as it was.

The walk continued in silence until they entered a lit-up area, another section with a closed door. Once the three were in the new room, the doors to the dark hallway shut behind them.

“Another dead end.” Bendy grumbled, knocking on the doors. He didn’t see any switches on the walls. “I don’t see another way through, you got any ideas, Boris?” He asked his friend.

A look crossed Boris’ face as he stood up straight, approaching Henry. He held out his hand for the flashlight, and Henry handed it over, confused. Boris approached a vent in the wall, jimming the grates off with ease, before looking over his shoulder at Henry, giving him a wink.

Henry blinked, that… gesture, that look, why did it remind him of-

Boris began to crawl into the vents with the light. There were thumps, banging about, while Henry and Bendy stood there in the room. It felt like forever, though it was only a minute or two, before the doors leading out opened. “Thanks, Boris!” Bendy happily called out into the vent. “You can come back!”

There was only silence in return.

“Do we… wait?” The little imp asked, looking up at Henry.

“I want to say yes, but I think Boris wants us to continue, that he’ll meet up with us soon.”

“How do you know dat?”

“A feelin’, come on.” Henry gestured to the now opened doors.

Bendy looked back at the vent, before giving a nod, taking Henry’s hand. He trusted his friend’s words, and he trusted his bud to come back. They walked through the doors and towards an old, beaten up image of Bendy’s face.

It seemed to be a pillar, dividing a wide entranceway. The two looked at one another, before deciding to take an entrance each, seeing as both led into the same room.

“Wow… I don’t remember any of this…”

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, with only a single drawing, sorry about that and the wait. I’ve been busy recently with getting work over the summer so I can find my own place to live (I’m currently at my parents’ place).
> 
> Anyway, chapter three, like chapter two, will be broken up into parts. It’s a long level to get through and I don’t wanna write a huge chapter. Also, it gives this story more length while we wait for chapter five to come out.
> 
> Next chapter: Henry and Bendy realize that they are clearly not alone in this place, that there is someone watching them from afar, keeping tabs on their every move, their every action.
> 
> And it’s not the Other Bendy.
> 
> She’s quite the gal, isn’t she?
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please comment and kudos!


	7. To be the Perfect Angel, Some Sin Must be Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The studio is much bigger than Henry could have ever imagined, and who is this mysterious woman who seems to be the one pulling the strings in this new area? 
> 
> She says she’s Alice, but Henry doubts this to be true, even if she’s got horns and halo to prove it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter seven, where we meet the interesting ‘Alice Angel’. I think I’m gonna separate Chapter Three into four parts, so this means this is the second part.
> 
> Warning: We’re gonna see some dead bodies in this one
> 
> EDIT: I was informed that I forgot to write the scene where they moved the shelves in the toy workshop. I... honestly thought I wrote it, but I think I accidentally deleted it? Well, I rewrote it, so it's now included.
> 
> On with the fic!

“Wow, I don’t remember any of this…”

“Me either!”

The room was huge, the ceiling had to be thirty or so feet high, with wooden planes dangling from it. On the walls were posters for Bendy shorts, like _Bendy and Boris go to Hell in a Handbasket_ and _Train Troubles_. There was another Little Miracle Station in the room, near the entrances, along with paths divided up by short fences. On either side of the room were sofas, with four Bendy cutouts around each one, along with toy trains and plushies.

Lots of plushies, actually.

There was a scattering of Bendy and Boris plush toys of varying sizes all about, including a huge Boris that sat in front of a large fountain in the room. A tower rose behind the fountain, with a waterfall of ink coming from it. It had a wooden ring around it, along with a sign that read **Heavenly Toys** , meaning the ring was a halo. On either side of the fountain was a flight of stairs leading up to another section.

“Wow! Dis explains all da toys of me we’ve been seein’!” Bendy happily stated as he ran up to the very large plush of himself, giving it a squeeze, hearing a loud squeak from it. “Henry! Can I take dis wit’ us?”

“You have no way of luggin’ that thing around, nor do you have anywhere to put it.” Henry replied, walking past him to get to the stairs. “Jeez, how the hell did Joey get this built down here? Suddenly I feel really bad for Cohen…”

“Whose dat?” Bendy asked as he followed after his creator.

“Grant Cohen, he was our accountant, in charge of the money for the studio. He was a man who took his job seriously and did his best to keep our budget in check, though he didn’t look like a guy who should be in that sorta job. Scrawny guy, long-ish hair, but he was damn good at his job and makin’ sure the budget was in check. I bet this gave the poor guy a heart attack or somethin’.” He gestured at the room, waving his hand around.

Bendy made a face. “I’ve got a feelin’ dat a toy factory ain’t da worst thing Drew blew da studio’s money on.”

“Heh, even without your full memories, you still remember that he doesn’t know how to spend money decently?” Henry smirked as they got up to the landing, hearing Bendy laugh behind him.

“Of course! I doubt I can forget some of Joey’s dumber actions! Whoa! Dat’s a big me!” He gasped at the giant image of himself on the back of the tower. “Lookin’ good, big me!”

Henry raised an eyebrow, what an egotistical demon, jeez. He looked around the landing, seeing more posters, including one he had seen a few times but never gave it much attention. It was a poster with Bendy’s hands and smile on it, reading **Work Hard Work Happy**.

Uhg, not really helpful, it was very intimidating.

He went into the new room that the landing led to, surprised to see more machinery, and toys. There were even more plush toys of Bendy and his friends, along with works tools for different types of toys.

“Guess this was a workshop at some point.” He turned his attention to the back of the room, seeing a door behind a line of shelves, making him cluck his tongue in annoyance. “Why is there always somethin’ blockin’ the door? Gotta be a way through.”

Bendy looked a little more around the room, past the shelves at something. “Hey, Henry! I found a tape!”

The former animator made his way over, looking through a gap between two shelves. There was a lone work bench, with a tape recorder and some plush toys, along with a little dish where a tiny ink Bendy sat. He reached his arm through, finding that he couldn’t reach the tape.

“Damnit.” He grumbled, before looking at the tiny Bendy that sat in the dish.

Hey, wait a second…

He stretched his right arm through the space as far as it could go, ink began to pool in his palm before a Bendy appeared. “Hey there, do you think you can push play on that player for us?” Henry asked.

The Bendy looked over the audio log, before giving a happy nod. It moved back a few paces, before running, jumping off of his hand and landing on the bench with a perfect landing. It happily approached the play button and pushed on it.

_“I don't be seein' what the big deal is. So what if I went and painted some of those Bendy dolls with a crooked smile?”_

The voice that spoke was one Henry didn’t recognize on the spot. The man spoke with an Irish accent, a strong one, and from what Henry could see on some notes left on the desk, this man must be Shawn Flynn. Shawn Flynn… OH! He remembered that guy, but only just barely. Shawn was a new hire by the time Henry was fired, having only worked there for a month.

From what little Henry could remember, he was a scruffy guy with dark hair and bright eyes, a cocky grin almost always on his face. Henry remembered seeing him often with Wally and Thomas, following them around. Guess he was suppose to design toys and merchandise for the show, from what Henry could see of the notes around the desk.

As Henry listened, there were loud noises in the background, like machinery. And possibly… explosions? Hm, well, the recording must have been done here, in the workshop.

 _“That's sure no reason for Mr. Drew to be flyin' off the handle at me. And if he_ really _wants to be so helpful, he could be tellin' me what I'm to be doin' with this warehouse I got full of that angel whatchamacallit._

_Not a scrap of that mess be a-sellin'! Probably have to melt it all down to be rid of it all.”_

A sad sigh came from the left of Henry and he looked down, seeing the depressed look on Bendy’s face. “What’s wrong, bud?” He asked, kneeling down to look at him better.

Bendy glanced up, a shaky smile on his face, his eyes looked wet. “I… I guess Alice wasn’t really a favorite wit’ da viewers. I remember her shorts were popular wit’ da staff, we had music an’ voices in ‘em. They were big hits, dat’s what I was told…”

He remembered Alice being told by people that she was beautiful, amazing, that she clearly had the voice of an angel. She was always told that she was perfect.

So, what happened?

He felt Henry’s hand on his head, rubbing at his horns. He smiled and closed his eyes, letting the comforting touch relax him.

“It’s alright,” he heard the man speak, “she might not have been as popular as first expected, but she still got her name out there. Just like you and Boris did. And if… _when_ we find her, I’m sure we can make her popular.”

Bendy smiled a little, giving a nod, rubbing at one of his eyes. “Heh, I’ll hold ya to dat, ol’ man. Come on! We gotta go met up wit’ Boris, bet da guy’s waitin’ fer us!”

Henry nodded, getting up and taking Bendy’s hand. “So… how do we get past those shelves?”

The demon glanced around, before looking at the machinery, noticing wires and a switch. He grinned brightly, snapping his fingers as the lightbulb made another appearance. “I’ve got an idea! Stay right here!”

He let go of Henry’s hand and rushed out of the room. He ran up to the switch and pulled it, before coming back inside. Henry asked him what he was doing, seeing the little devil approaching one of the wheels and belts for the machines in the room, removing a chunk of toy that was stuck, this got the wheel moving.

“I noticed dat there was stuff stuck in da machinery! Figured dat was a problem, an’ look!” Bendy pointed to the floor. “These wires are connected to da switches in here an’ out there, so maybe they’re what gets all of dis stuff up an’ runnin’! Now help me wit’ da stuff stuck in higher places.”

Henry approached him, removing an Alice body from the machine, seeing another wheel churning. They did the same with the other machine in the room. “Think that’ll do it?” The animator asked as he watched Bendy grab the handle for the switch.

“Here’s hopin’!” He pulled down, watching in delight as the line of shelves started to move. “It worked!” He pulled it two more times until there was a big enough gap for the two of them to get through.

Bendy went over to Henry, taking his hand once more before walking to the door to the next room. Henry opened it, and, well, he wasn’t expecting what he found in the room. There was Alice Angel merchandise all around, behind glass, on the walls. There were several television screens mounted on the walls, and on the far end of the room was a glass window, looking into a recording room.

“What the hell…?” He whispered, stepping a few more feet into the room before the door slammed behind him and Bendy.

“Did y- what just hap-” Bendy blinked before the lights went out, leaving them in complete darkness, but only for a moment.

There was a pop, a fizz, and the televisions came to life.

On the screens was the smiling face of the fallen angel herself, as a happy song began to play, followed by a soft sigh and a happy giggle. Then Alice began to sing a little song.

_I'm the cutest little angel, sent from above, and I know just how to swing._

“Alice?” The little devil gasped, his eyes wide as he heard the singing of his friend. This was the first song she sang in the show, he remembered that! He remembered hearing it in her first cartoon, it was her introduction to the show!

_I got a bright little halo, and I'm filled with love..._

_I'm Alice Angel!_

Henry shivered, something didn’t seem right about this, at all. There was something seriously wrong about what was happening. It was almost as if someone… was watching them…

_I'm the hit of the party, I'm the belle of the ball, I'm the toast of every town._

_Just one little dance, and I know you'll fall..._

_I'm Alice Angel!_

_I ain't no flapper, I'm a classy dish, and boy, can this girl sing._

The lights in the recording booth turned on and Henry made the mistake of stepping closer to see why.

_This gal can grant your every wish..._

Someone slammed into the glass of the booth.

**_“I'm Alice Angel!”_ **

They were a woman, with a terrifying expression on her equally-terrifying face. She screamed in rage and struck the glass with her fists, shattering it just as all the lights in the room went out.

Henry and Bendy stood there, shocked and scared out of their wits as they stood in the darkness. They couldn’t see anything, but both knew that they were not alone in the room at all. There was a dark chuckle, right by Henry’s ear. He felt a cold, delicate hand brush against his cheek.

“ _I see you there…_ ” A feminine voice spoke gently against his ear, her lips just barely touching him. “ ** _A new fly in my endless web_**.”

Bendy almost screamed when he felt her touch his horns, he knew it wasn’t Henry’s hand at all. He wanted to cry, this was scary! Who the heck was this woman?!

“ _Come along now_.” She mumbled close to him, her hand now off of him, but it still felt like it was there. “ _Let’s see if you’re worthy to **walk with angels**_.”

There was a small pause, just a second or two, before the lights returned.

The glass of the booth was shattered, with a large hole in it. There was glass all over the floor at Henry and Bendy’s feet. The posters on the walls were now messed up, the cutouts of Alice were gone, as were all but one of the toys of her.

And they were left alone.

“Bendy… do you know…” Henry finally spoke, after finding his voice.

“No… no, an’ dat… she wasn’t Alice, but she said… she looked like…” The devil stammered, visibly shaking like a leaf as he hugged himself.

Henry shook his head, pulling Bendy towards the a now-opened access point in the room, must have happened during the chaos, yet he didn’t hear the grate for the door lift. He felt Bendy grip his hand tightly and he stopped.

“Come here…” He got down, opening his arms for the little toon, who happily jumped into his hold. “You okay, bud?”

“No.” Bendy admitted, clinging tightly. “She looked like Alice, but there was so much… wrong with her! Wha- what happened here? While I was in da machine?”

“I’m not the right person to ask.”

“Heh, it was rhetorical.” Bendy chuckled, though he still looked startled. “So, uhh… did she touch you too?”

The silence was a strong yes to Bendy. He leaned against Henry as he was held close while the human left the room. He looked over Henry’s shoulder at the room, closing his eyes as he felt the phantom sensation of that woman’s cold touch on his inky skin. Who even was she? Would she come back to hurt them?

He hoped not, the only Alice he wanted to see was his friend, alive and well.

“Uh oh.” Henry mumbled, catching Bendy’s attention. The imp turned around, looking to see what it was that made Henry stop in his tracks. When he realized what it was, it made his ink run cold.

It was a sign post between two entrances. The post had two signs, each pointing at one of the doorways. The one to their left said **THE DEMON** , with little horns on the O. The one to the right said **THE ANGEL** , like the horns, there was a little halo above the G.

Halo…

Henry realized why he recognized the shape, it was the same as the thing on the Little Miracle Stations. It was a halo! Because of that strange woman, who said she was Alice Angel, probably.

“So… we gotta pick a path, huh?” Henry looked at the options, knowing that neither would end well for them. “Which one do you like best?”

Bendy’s eyes moved back and forth as he tried to weigh the pros and cons of each side. His eyes moved so fast that they blurred black and yellow on his white face until he had to stop, making himself dizzy. He shook it off and looked up at Henry. “I think we should… uhh… take da demon path!”

“Why?” Henry asked, shifting him in his hold.

“Well, it sounds silly to say dis, but I feel like it’s da best path fer us to take. Like there’s somethin’ in there we need to check out, ya know?”

Henry glanced to his left before giving a nod. He didn’t want to admit it, but he might be feeling the same thing his friend was. The demon’s path was the right way to go, even if it seemed like the worst choice. Henry stepped into the room, finding everything soaked in ink. It was all over the floor, the furniture, the walls, ceiling. Hell! There were flowing pillars of the stuff, a chair was stuck in one!

A loud slam was heard outside of the room and Henry rushed out, seeing that the path to the Angel’s room was blocked off now. “Huh, should have seen that comin’.”

“Jeez, ya think the other one would have done this if we picked her path?” Bendy asked, keeping himself in Henry’s hold. It was for the best, the less time he spent in the deeper ink, the better. He was still too nervous to see what effect it would have on him.

“Probably, guess we really were only allowed one path. Well, let’s keep goin’.” He turned back, entering the Demon’s room.

A cutout and a Bendy plushie were in the room, watching them, staring deeply with their dead eyes. Henry shivered, why did it feel like all the Bendys that weren’t his in this area were just staring into his soul. He didn’t like any of this.

“Henry, look!” Bendy pointed at something on a chair, it was another audio log. There were so many of these, someone had to be putting them in obvious places for these two to find. Kinda creepy, if one thought about it.

Splashing through the ink, Henry approached it, pressing play. As soon as he did, he froze up, the voice that came from it was one he hadn’t heard in thirty years.

It was Joey Drew’s voice.

_“There's nothing wrong with dreaming. Wishing for the impossible is just human nature. That's how I got it started. Just a pencil and a dream.”_

No, Henry thought, staring down at the recorder, Joey never drew. Henry was the one with a pencil and a dream.

_“We all want everything without even having to lift a finger. They say you just have to believe. Belief can make you succeed.”_

He didn’t notice his eye glowing, his pupil becoming a tiny dot, the white of his eye turning black. It even began to leak a bit of ink.

_“Belief can make you rich. Belief can make you powerful. Why with enough belief, you can even cheat death itself!”_

“Henry?” Bendy asked, noticing that his friend looked furious, enraged almost.

_“Now that... is a beautiful, and positively silly thought.”_

The audio log was sent flying across the room, smashing right into a wall, before following into the ink.

Henry’s teeth were clenched tightly as he stared hard at the chair where the tape had been. He felt rage burning inside of him, his right hand stung as ink bubbled up from the mark. Joey Drew was not one who can say these things, he was a selfish man, who stole people’s ideas! He was a man who knew how to manipulate people into making his ideas a reality.

Belief?

HA! That really is a silly thought, isn’t it, you son of a-

“Hen-Henry…?”

He stopped, snapping out of it, before looking at Bendy. The toon looked scared, and very worried. “Henry… are you okay? Your eye, it’s…”

Reaching up, Henry rubbed at his right eye, blinking a few times. He turned back to Bendy, who relaxed a little in his hold. “Is it okay?” He asked, getting a nod.

“What happened? You just looked so mad when you were listenin’ to Joey.”

“…” Henry wasn’t gonna lie about what he felt. “I was furious, he said nothin’ but lies. He did get started with a pencil and a dream, but those were _mine_. Of course, the asshole continues to steal from me. Thirty years later, and he has to take _my_ credit! You proud of yourself, Joey?! You hear me?!” He shouted at the ceiling.

“Calm down!” Bendy touched his face, squishing his cheeks. “Henry, listen to me! Don’t be gettin’ yerself worked up cause dat fool had to talk outta his bum! Look, I’m mad at him to, I’m ready to punch him right in his dumb face wit’ a boxin’ glove loaded with lead, but we gotta keep a focused mind here!”

Henry removed the imp’s hands from his face, trying to calm himself down. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m just stressed, and tired. I didn’t expect any of this, I just thought he wanted to talk. But no, I get stuck doin’ his dirty work to get that damn machine workin’, and now we’re trapped down here.”

“I’m mad too, Henry. I wanna know why I was in da machine, an’ why there’s dat Other Me runnin’ around, but we gotta stop givin’ in to our anger. It’s doin’ stuff to us, bad stuff. We gotta…”

“We gotta stay level headed and keep our anger in check.”

“Exactly.” He then grinned. “Come on, let’s keep on movin’! Boris is waitin’ for us!”

The animator looked at him before chuckling, giving a nod as he started to leave the room, happy to be out of the ink. He moved into a hallway, still holding onto the toon in his arms. He was a little worried, who knew if there was another flooded room, or even a flooded hall. Didn’t help that he passed another one of those stations as he walked.

Suddenly, Henry let out a yelp, holding Bendy tight enough to make the little demon squeak like one of his toys. Up ahead, a Bendy cutout had just peeked around a corner at them, before moving out of sight.

Henry and Bendy looked at each other, before the former carefully approached the corner, seeing Boris standing there, smiling sheepishly with the cutout next to him.

Letting out a sigh, Henry gave the wolf a frown with no anger behind it. “Boris, you scared me to death. Heh, but it’s good to see you, pal.”

Boris smiled more, his ears perking up as he held up two items. One was a pipe, actually, it was two pipes. One was straight, the other curved, and held together by a piece of metal with the word ‘GENT’ engraved in it.

“Is that a weapon?” Henry asked as Boris handed it to him. “Thanks, Boris.”

“Where’d ya get da audio log?” Bendy asked, gesturing to the other item the wolf held.

The taller toon pointed down the hall the two came from, before making a circle over his head with his finger a few times.

“The Angel room.” Henry spoke, watching Boris happily nod before he pushed play on the device.

_“Everything feels like it's coming apart. When I walked into the recording booth today, Sammy was there with that... Allison._

_Apparently, I didn't get the memo. Alice Angel will now be voiced by Miss Allison Pendle._

_A part of me died when he said that. There's gotta be a way to fix this!”_

The three quietly looked at the tape of Susie Campbell, though Henry noticed the look on Boris’ face. There was concern on it, along with a hint of guilt and despair. Then it was gone as Boris set the tape aside, a smile on his face as he gestured to the door, opening it.

Bendy shifted, getting out of Henry’s hold. “You gonna be okay wit’ dat pipe, Henry? It ain’t like da one you were usin’ da other day.”

“It’s solid, and will probably last for a bit, so yeah.” Henry replied as he followed after Boris with his toon following behind him, gripping the strap for the bag. They found themselves in a room full of shelves, cluttered with toys. Plush toys of the toons, mostly of Alice, and wooden planes and trains. Boris gently squeezed a Bendy, hearing it squeak. He seemed to laugh, though it came out more like a breathy panting.

Bendy smiled a little, grabbing one as well, giving it a squeeze, hearing it squeak. He then grabbed a Boris and an Alice that was, luckily, undamaged, like many of them were. He tossed them behind himself, and Henry watched with surprise that they just… vanished! They were there for a second and gone the next!

“What did you just do?” Henry asked.

“Hm?” Bendy looked over his shoulder at him. “What? Oh, I put ‘em in mah hammerspace!”

“… Hammerspace?”

“Yeah!” Bendy grinned brightly. “It’s da place where toons keep stuff dat they pull from behind their backs! I’ve got lots of stuff back there!”

Henry nodded, that was a helpful feature, in case they needed to hold onto anything. It explained what he had seen earlier, back when they were in the music hall area, and after he had woken up from the chase.

He removed the bag from his shoulder, holding it out to Bendy. “Wanna hold onto this for me? Just in case?”

Bendy happily took it, stuffing it behind his back, and it was gone. He grinned, doing a little jazz hands for show. The animator chuckled before moving towards another doorway, finding that Boris was already there, in a new hallway. There was a large Bendy statue behind him, and Henry looked at it wearily. He suspected those things were important to the ink, especially since he came out of the stuff in front of one.

There was also a door nearby, metal, and shut tight. Typical, he should have seen that coming. He noticed cords attached to it, along with a switch on the wall. Some led down to another part of the hall, down a turn. “Will that switch work to open the door?”

Boris reached over, pulling it down, but nothing happened. He made a pulling gesture before pointing down the hall, shifting his hand to the left. From what Henry could tell, Boris basically said ‘there’s a second switch we need down the hall and to the left’.

“I see.” Bendy spoke up. “Okay, so we got two switches to pull, probably at once. Alrighty! Boris, buddy, you stay here an’ flip dis switch, we’re gonna go pull da other one!”

“No.” Henry shook his head. “Bendy, I want you stayin’ here with Boris.”

“What? Why?”

“Cause he doesn’t have a weapon.”

Bendy pouted, turning to the taller toon. “Boris, do ya got a weapon?”

Reaching to his mouth, Boris removed the bone from his mouth, giving it a little wave. ‘Will this work’ he seemed to ask with his facial expression.

Henry frowned, but figured that if Boris could fight somewhat, he’d probably be alright. “Fine, but if it becomes too much, whistle.”

Boris gave a nod, and then saluted, grinning as he put the bone back to his mouth. Bendy chuckled and took Henry’s hand, pulling him towards the other end of the room, towards the turn. When they got there, they found the switch on a wall, near a poster for the Butcher Gang.

“Heh, do ya remember those guys, ol’ man?” Bendy smirked. “I do! Man, those were some crazy adventures I had wit’ ‘em! Remember da one where I got shrunken down from drinkin’ from dat bottle?”

“Yeah, and they put you inside of it and were tryin’ to throw you into the ocean.”

“Hehehe, dat was a good one!” Bendy snickered as he walked towards the switch. Henry moved to follow him, only to notice something push against the poster. Before he could warn Bendy, something tore through the poster, screaming at them.

Bendy shouted in alarm, falling back against the wall as the creature dropped to the floor. It looked weird! The head was long, the mouth taking up most of the face, it didn’t even have eyes! One of its arms was broken off, and a leg was completely replaced by a plunger. But even with all these deformed features, Bendy recognized the monster.

“C-Charley?!” He exclaimed. Charley, the leader of the Butcher Gang, he was a slightly-sophisticated character, and smarter than the other two members of the group. This… thing looked somewhat like Charley, but it was obvious that it was a monster wearing his skin.

It made a strange noise, turning its attention to Bendy, before striking the toon right across his face. Bendy cried out, clutching his face, tasting a metallic liquid in his mouth.

‘Charley’ raised its arm up, showing that it was holding a pipe, and it hit Bendy again, making him scream. It moved for another attack, but it was struck in the face, knocking it back. Bendy looked up, seeing Henry standing there, his golden eye glowing faintly as he hit the deformed toon with the pipe again. He was going to attack again, but ‘Charley’ hit his hand with its own pipe, making Henry drop his, hissing at the shock of pain.

Quickly, Bendy ignored his own pain to move towards Henry and the monster, striking it across the face, then back handing it.

Stumbling back, ‘Charley’s’ body started to bubble, before turning black. It just dropped, a liquid, before it slipped between the floorboards. Bendy panted, before dropping, groaning in pain as he spat into his hand. His eyes widened at the sight, it was ink, but he knew it wasn’t right. He couldn’t clearly see it, but he knew there was something mixed with it.

“Henry… what color is dis ink?” He asked, holding out his hand.

Getting down, Henry looked at it. “It’s black, with hints of… red. Red? Why is…?” He sniffed, his own eyes widening a little.

“Blood? You can bleed?”

“I guess I can.” The toon mumbled. “Things keep changin’ wit’ us.”

Henry gave a nod before looking at Bendy’s face. He saw a dark gray splotch on his cheek, it also looked swollen. “Hold still, let me try something.”

Bendy looked up at him, watching as Henry touched his cheek with his right hand, having noticed a bit of ink spilling out of the mark. He closed his eyes, feeling Henry rub at the large bruise. It stung, but then the pain started to vanish, as did the swelling, and the taste of metal.

Opening his eyes, Bendy gently touched his cheek. “You can heal me?”

“I figured it was how your back got fixed up after the other Bendy attacked. I’ve been meanin’ to try it out on you again, consciously this time. I think the mark, and the ink in me, is what also healed my own injuries, or at least increased my ability to heal. That creature got you a second time, where’d it get you?”

After pointing to the injury on his arm, Bendy watched as Henry gently rubbed it. “What attacked us? It wasn’t a Searcher, an’ it looked an awful lot like Charley.”

“I don’t know, but I hope we never run into that thing again, or the rest of the gang…” Henry grumbled before standing up. He grabbed the pipe and reached for the switch, telling Bendy to alert Boris that he was pulling the switch now.

Once they knew Boris was ready, Henry pulled down on the switch, and faintly heard the door open. As they left the small portion of hall they were in, Bendy peeked into another doorway, slipping inside, before coming back out with something.

“Another audio recording?” Henry asked, being handed it as they walked over to Boris.

Bendy nodded, stopping at the now-opened door, where Boris was. “Yeah, I spotted it when we were walkin’ to da switch, but I wanted to wait to check it out. Let’s listen!”

_"Alright let's go over this again. If the pressure goes over 45, I screw the safety bolt in tighter, right?”_

_“No! For the last time, you do that, you'll blow every pipe in this place! If it reaches 45, you unhook the safety switch.”_

Boris slowly tilted his head, his ears twitching rapidly as he listened to the two people speak. There was a look on his face, one that showed recognition, before it was gone. Another one of those strange faces that Henry kept noticing with the wolf, as if there something going on in that head of his.

_“You sure? You know, this sounds harder than comparin’ ear wax to bee's wax!”_

_“Look, it's not that difficult! Just keep an eye on the gauge!”_

_“Look pal, if you think I'm doin’ my job AND yours, I'm outta here!”_

“Huh, I guess Thomas was havin’ Wally help him out with somethin’ involvin’ the mechanical stuff here, probably the machine.” Henry commented, looking at his companions.

Reaching out, Boris took the recorder from Henry, gently placing it down by the foot of the Bendy statue. He frowned, looking serious for a moment, before walking past them and into the new area.

Bendy raised an eyebrow. “What was dat about?” Henry just shrugged, taking his hand as they followed after Boris. They entered a new area, an indoor balcony, looking over an elevator. Bendy turned, looking up at his creator, mentioning that he did not remember there being one in the studio, at all.

“I don’t remember one either.” Henry spoke as they headed for the stairs leading down to said elevator, where Boris was waiting for them inside. “We had the stairs, but not this. God damn, how big is this studio? Is it even a studio anymore?”

“Hmm… no, seems more like a screamin’, wooden death trap to me. Ain’t dat right, Boris?” Bendy joked, getting another silent laugh from his friend.

Henry didn’t see the humor in the comment, considering that this place was a screaming, wooden death trap. He stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed right behind him, just as a voice started to speak from a speaker that he couldn’t see.

“You're so interesting... **_so different_**.”

Bendy gasped, gripping Henry’s leg. “Henry… it’s her, the scary woman…”

“I have to say, **_I'm an instant fan_**. _Looks like you've got a date with an angel!_ Come to me now. Level 9. **Just follow the screams**.”

The elevator started to move on its own and it began to descend. Boris let out a whimper, covering his eyes as Henry gripped his pipe tightly, feeling Bendy shake nervously against him. It only took a few moments for the elevator to get down to Level 9, stopping.

The room was large, with a stream of ink running through the middle of it. There were several doors, including one that was boarded up, and a time punch card machine. In the far back of the room, past the ink stream, was a metal door with a sign above it. It read **SHE’S QUITE A GAL** , being held up by cartoony hands. A beaten-up Alice head was behind it, looking down at anyone who approached the doors.

**“Come on, step out of your cage. There's a whole twisted world out here.”**

Henry clenched his teeth; his eye stung a bit. “Wonderful…” He hissed as the doors opened.

Boris stepped out of the elevator, gesturing for them to follow him. Bendy moved, grabbing Henry’s hand as they walked down a flight of stairs, over a bridge, and up to the doors were Boris was waiting for them. Henry took note to the strange pod-like device to their left, but his attention went towards the doors as they opened, and Boris ran inside.

“Boris! Wait!” Bendy called out, pulling Henry along with him after they went after the wolf, only to come upon a horrific sight.

The room they entered was huge, full of ink, and many corpses of dead toons. Strapped to tables, just like the one Henry found upstairs, were the corpses of Boris, and of the deformed toon from before. There were also more deformed toons, scattered about in the room. Hell, some were even hanging from the ceiling over the huge pool of heated ink!

Boris stood in front of the closest Boris body, looking at it with an unreadable expression. “Boris…?” Bendy questioned, approaching his friend. The wolf didn’t seem to notice him at all, too focused on the clone that was laid out before him, the ribs were wide open, clearly showing the lack of organs inside.

Bendy shivered, feeling sick, hit by a wave of nausea. He rushed over to the ink, emptying the contents of his stomach into it before looking at Henry. The poor toon’s eyes were wide, horrified.

“Henry… Henry, what is dis… what did she-? Oh sweet marmalade, dis ain’t right… you don’t think she could ha-” His question was interrupted by the voice of the woman.

“Look around. _It took so many of them to make me so beautiful_. Anything less than **perfect** was left behind. _I had to do it. She made me_.”

The voice sounded so soft, so scared, at the end. Bendy shuddered, his eye glowing as he looked all over for the voice. “Where are you?! Show yourself!”

 _“Come this way.”_ The woman spoke once more. _“Come see me, Bendy, it’s been so long…”_

“Alice?” He moved, stepping onto the wooden planks that made up a path over the ink. “Alice, is that you?!” He started to run, making his way to another set of metal doors that began to open.

“Bendy, wait for me.” Henry stepped onto the planks, carefully following after him. The fumes of the heated ink were making him feel sick, which didn’t help him with the smell of rot coming from the bodies all around him. He never expected toons to smell like rotten meat when they were dead. All the ones attached to the tables were Borises and Charleys, but he took notice to the other two.

The ones hanging from the ceiling reminded him, just barely, of Barley. The sea captain who was as salty as they came, looked terrifying with his head hanging from the hook of a fishing pole. The bodies in the ink were possibly Edgar, the spider who happened to be the foolish one of the group. Henry didn’t like that they had teeth on their heads that were clearly not in their mouths.

He got to the doors, entering the hall inside, only to find Bendy standing before a cutout. It was of Alice Angel, smiling as she stood on a cloud. There was nothing malicious or strange about it, nothing like the Bendy ones, but the little demon was looking at it, worried.

“Henry, I heard her, I heard her voice… maybe da lady’s got her captured.” Bendy whispered.

Henry doubted it, but he didn’t voice his concerns. No, right now his attention was on the room near them, where terrible sounds and screams were coming from. He picked up Bendy, holding him close as he gripped his pipe, feeling ink shift about on his mark.

Entering the room made Henry’s fight or flight instinct go into overdrive. The room was small, with a wall of glass, where an unsettling scene was playing out. The woman from before was inside, at a control switch, torturing a Charley clone.

The woman looked human, but there was so much wrong with her. Dressed similar to Alice Angel, she bore the toon’s horns on her head, along with her halo. However, the halo was stuck in her head, broke, and tilted. Her arms were stained in ink, but they looked like opera gloves. Her throat had a line of what looked to be ink across it, though Henry wondered if it was a wound.

The strangest, and scariest, thing about her was her face. The right side looked normal, minus the golden eye, but the left side was a mess. The eye socket was completely hollow, her mouth looked rotten, Henry and Bendy could clearly see her teeth and blackened gums. Strange ridges were even coming out of her cheek!

What… who was this woman?

She was not Alice Angel, but some sort of monstrous version of her, like something from a nightmare. Sadly, she reminded Henry of that Other Bendy.

The woman, this Other Alice, glanced over at the two and smirked, shutting off the power to the torture table that ‘Charley’ was hooked up to. “So, you decided to come see the **_glorious_** **Alice Angel** , yes? _How sweet_ , it’s been so long since I’ve had a man stop by. Too bad you brought… **vermin with you**. **Should have left that disgusting demon outside.** Though I am surprised, he looks **_so different_** from the last time I saw him. **_So much more… tiny, a bit off-modeled, with that eye_**. Thought you’d be perfect when I first spotted you, but it seems you’ll always **be less than so**.”

“He’s not disgustin’, he’s my friend. And he is perfect, just the way he is.” Henry snipped, holding Bendy close. “If you have a problem with him, take it up with me.”

“Hm. How sad. Oh well, I suppose you can like a **trashy character** like him.” She sighed dramatically, ignoring the insulted noise Bendy made and what Henry had said before.

“Now we come to the question...” She continued, “ **do I kill you?** **...Do I tear you apart to my heart's delight?** The choices of the **beautiful are _unbearable_**. _How's a girl to choose?_ ” She chuckled before narrowing her eye, jabbing a finger in ‘Charley’s’ direction.

 **“Take this little freak for instance!** He crawled in here... Trailing his **tainted ink** to my door!”

A look of pure fear suddenly came to her face as she cowered back, her attention switching between the monster toon and the two beyond the glass she was behind. “It could have **touched** me! It could have _pulled me back!!_ _Do you know what it's like? Living in the dark puddles?_ ”

Bendy nervously spoke up. “I’m sure dat it’s a mess there. Right, Henry?”

The Other Alice looked at Henry with her one eye. “ **You** have experience the Puddles?”

“Yes, I have, and I’m going to guess that you have as well.” Henry said, his tone bitter. He didn’t want to think about that unsettling place, it made his skin crawl just thinking about it.

“Heh, at least someone else coherent enough knows of it. **Do you remember it well?** Do you remember it being a **buzzing, screaming well of voices!** **_Bits of your mind_** , swimming... like... _like fish in a bowl!_ ”

The devil toon suddenly felt her gaze on him, it was cold, and harsh. “Well, dat’s… not a pleasant thing to know about…”

“She’s not wrong.” Henry whispered. “It was a mess, but I mostly heard my own voice in there, things I had said here in the studio.”

“The first time I was born from its' inky womb, **I was a wriggling, pussing, shapeless slug**.” She seemed to be rambling now, as if she was ignoring them. “The second time... well... _It made me an angel! I will not let_ **the demon touch me again** _. I'm so close now. So... **almost perfect**._ ”

She stood up straight, crossing her arms. “Now… what to do with you two. You, **_human_** , could be of great use to me… but… **him.** ” She pointed Bendy, a disgusted look on her face. “ **There are so many things I would love to do to you. I would love to shove my hand into your chest and rip out your blackened heart…** ”

“It’ll be a cold day in Hades before I’ll ever let ya near me, you… you knock off!” Bendy snarled, his off-model eye blackening. “Where’s Alice?! Where do you have her? Bring her out here, or I’ll make you regret showin’ yer face to us!”

The Other Alice looked unimpressed. “You think you can threaten me, **_you little mistake?_** Oh, how I’d love to make you **drink a bottle of acetone, just so I can watch you burn from the inside out.** But no… I would rather you be of use to me.” She seemed to give this some thought, before pretending to seem surprised by an idea.

“I have a brilliant idea, a wonderful, **_perfect_** idea… for the both of you.” A sickly smirk crossed her face as she leaned on the control panel. “Yes. **I will spare you. For now. Better yet...** I'll even let you ascend and leave this place. If you will do a _few eensy, weensy little favors for me first_. **Return to the lift, my little errand boys. We have work to do!** "

She struck a button of the control panel and a grate dropped, blocking them from seeing her as she tortured ‘Charley’ once more. Bendy struggled and got out of Henry’s hold, grabbing a can of bacon soup that had been sitting nearby, and threw it, hard.

It struck the grate, hard enough to actually leave a dent. “She didn’t answer my question! Where’s Alice!? MY ALICE!”

“Bendy, stop.” Henry held up a hand. “Remember, you told me not to give into anger, and you should follow your own advice.”

“But she might have my friend! An’ you saw what she did to those other toons! To Boris!” Bendy shouted, his eye was bright gold, almost glowing. He shook with rage, his fingers going from round to pointed, his horns seemed to be growing.

Henry grabbed him, hugging him close. “Stop.” He spoke softly, but loud enough for the demon to hear him over the noises behind the grate and glass. Bendy growled, but there was no bite to it. He struggled as Henry started to rub his back, before he stopped, loosely wrapping his arms around the human.

“ _Aww!_ ” The voice of the Other Alice echoed from a speaker. “Who would have thought that **a demon** could show affection, **_how sickeningly sweet, makes me teeth hurt._** ”

Glaring, Henry turned his attention to the window. “Look, stop with the insults, save them for me, not him.”

“I’d rather insult both. **Now get going, or else I won’t help you escape**.”

“How do we know we can trust you?”

“ _Why, errand boy, you can always trust an angel!_ ” She laughed, before the speaker went silent.

Henry sighed loudly, already tired of her. “Come on, buddy, let’s get goin’, we’ve got her dirty work to do.”

Bendy grunted, shifting in his hold. “We don’t have to do anythin’ fer her… but we don’t have a choice, do we?”

“You know the answer to that already, Bendy.”

The reply from the toon was a cartoony honking sound, ah, right, Bendy can’t curse. Henry chuckled, leaving the room and heading down the hall with Bendy still in his hold. When he returned to the ink-filled room, he noticed that Boris was already gone, which set off alarm bells in his head. But she was still in that room, tormenting that monster, so she couldn’t have done something… right?

“Another tape.” Bendy spoke up, pointing towards a desk. Carefully, Henry made his way over, making sure not to fall into the ink.

The tape had Susie Campbell’s name written on it, and Henry pushed play.

_“Who would've thought? Me having lunch with Joey Drew!_

_Apparently, times are tougher than I thought. For a moment there, I thought I'd be stuck with the check. But I gotta say, he wasn't at all what I expected. Quite the charmer._

_He even called me Alice. I liked it.”_

“How much do you bet he was trickin’ her?” Henry spoke, stepping away from the tape.

“I think he baited her easily, hook, line, an’ sinker!” Bendy snorted. “Poor girl, just one of da many fools to fall for his charms.”

“Don’t I know it…” Henry said with a bitter taste on his tongue. Some best friend that guy turned out to be.

Still though… there was something unsettling about what Susie’s tape, that last bit about Joey calling her Alice. Did he… did he do something to her? She sounded so upset in the tape Boris gave them, saying a part of her died when she was replaced as Alice’s voice.

He carried on, walking out of the inky morgue, wondering what tasks the ‘angel’ had for him and Bendy to do.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sixteen pages! This went on way too long, but I was in the zone!
> 
> I changed up some of Alice’s dialogue during her big speech to Henry, since Bendy’s involved. If it weren’t for Bendy’s off-model eye, she would have kidnapped him in the dark, but he’s not… perfect. Besides, she doesn’t want to use his organs, uhg! What if they’re tainted, like the Ink Demon!? But yeah, no, she’s not that interested in him. Henry’s got her eye anyway.
> 
> Next chapter: The angel has a few little tasks for the boys to do, much to their dismay, but what choice do they have in the matter? She has control here, and what she says goes.
> 
> She may be called Angel, but she certainly isn’t living up to that name.
> 
> Thanks for reading, please comment and kudos!


	8. Run and Hide in Case the Dancing Demon Wants to Play, Swinging to a Melody as Your Life Fades Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Bendy are sent out on their errand run, which is not what they want to do, but they can’t really do anything about it. The good news is that they learn things about the studio and themselves as they run from floor to floor.
> 
> The bad news? They learn some things about the Angel and the Demon…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter eight, the part of the story where Henry, Bendy, and I have to suffer through ‘Alice’s’ tasks and chores. Uhg, this is gonna be hell.
> 
> The good news is that we get to explore more of Bendy and Henry’s abilities in this part of the story, so that should make up for these boys dealing with all that boring shit.
> 
> Also, I’m gonna split the six tasks into two chapters (next chapter will be the last three, along with the elevator drop), which means that we’re almost to Chapter Four’s content.
> 
> By the way, I’m rather curious of this, but does anyone recognize any of the lyrics I use for the titles of each chapter? I try to find a line that fits the chapter, and none of the chapters use the same song. I’m asking cause I wanna know if anyone has figured out which songs are used, haha.
> 
> On with the fic!

Once they stepped through the doors, back into Level 9, Bendy and Henry heard the sickly sweet and bitter voice of the Other Alice over the speakers. However, it sounded much more bitter than sweet.

**“My machines are hungry. Gather me some spare parts!”**

And very demanding.

“And how do you expect me to get these parts? What even are they?” Henry asked, glaring up at the speaker. He turned quickly when he heard a sound to his left. A pillar device turned, revealing something that had been hidden. It was a monkey wrench.

“Use this, it will help you get small gears from power boxes around the area. _Go to Level K, there should be a few there for you to find, **I’m sure**_.” The angel spoke up. “Now hurry, if you want to leave _as soon as possible_.”

Bendy stuck his tongue out at the speaker, blowing a raspberry like a child, before going down the steps. He noticed that a gate had been down, blocking the bridge over the ink river. He huffed, spinning on his heels to look over at the doors. “AHEM!”

The gate rose and Bendy spat out a ‘thank you’ as he started to walk across with Henry following behind. As they got to the halfway point, Alice spoke up once more.

“There are so few rules to our world now. _So little truths_. **But there is one rule we all know and respect down here. _Beware the Ink Demon._** _Stay out in the open for too long and he will find you._ For if you see him, you'd better hide. If you don't, well, **_I enjoyed our date_**. Now, let us begin our work.”

“The… Ink Demon?” Henry blinked. “You mean the Other Bendy?”

“I suppose you can call **him** that.” Alice replied. “But I think that the one traveling with you should be called the **Other Bendy, considering he isn’t _the true Devil Darling_ in these parts**.”

“An’ just what is dat suppose to mean?!” Bendy shouted, putting his hands on his hips as he narrowed his eyes.

She just laughed. “He’s been wandering these halls a lot longer than you had when this studio was just a few floors. **Yes, while your face is, unfortunately, everywhere, he’s the one that everyone knows of down here.** You’re more of a… _second attempt_ , a scrapped design now, I’m sure. _Just another failed experiment of Mr. Joey Drew_.”

The fact that she had the nerve to say that, in Alice’s lovely voice, rubbed Bendy the wrong way. It was like adding a second helping of salt to a fresh wound, then scrubbing over it with rough sand paper! He bared his teeth, ink dripping down his forehead. He shook his head, rubbing at the wet ink, no, she was just messing with him. This faker seemed like the type of jerk to do that.

“What do you mean?” Henry asked, crossing his arms. “What do you know about Joey, Alice?”

There was only silence from her, he should have expected that. Not like anyone here is going to give him straight answers, uhg. He walked the rest of the way with Bendy, noticing something on a shelf by the flight of stairs that led up to the elevator.

“Another audio log…” Bendy frowned, why were there so many of these? “Bet someone is leavin’ all of these things fer us.”

“Probably, that’s what I’ve been suspectin’ at this point.” Henry said as he pushed play. The surly voice of Thomas Conner echoed in the room as the two listened.

_“These blasted elevators... sometimes they open... sometimes they don't... sometimes they come... sometimes they keep on going to Hell and back._

_I keep telling these people, if Mister Joey Drew keeps cutting corners like this, someone's sure to end up falling to their death._

_And it sure ain't gonna be me. I'm taking the stairs.”_

Bendy turned his attention to the elevator, nervously chuckling. “Uhh… I don’t suppose you’d be fine takin’ da stairs instead of da elevator, yeah?”

“Might be safer, even with the other you runnin’ around.” Henry mumbled as he went up the stairs, noticing Boris was still in the elevator. “Hey buddy, you gonna come with us?”

Boris shook his head. He gestured with his hand, moving it up and down, before pointing at the elevator.

Bendy huffed and approached him. “Alright, ya know what, I’m gonna give ya somethin’.” He reached behind himself, as if trying to grab something. Henry watched in awe as Bendy pulled on something, his eyes widening as he visibly watched a note pad and pen appear out of thin air. It was like Bendy pulled them out of an invisible pocket.

“Here! Use dis to talk to us, big guy!” The devil held out that items to Boris, who gladly took them. He started to write something down, seeming to concentrate as he did. When he finished, he handed the notepad to Bendy for him to read.

“He wrote… ‘I’ll stay here, keep an eye on things. If ya need me, just push da call button. An’ if you gotta hide, come here, he won’t get ya through da elevator.’ Wait, who is ‘he’, Boris?”

Boris frowned, his ears folding against his head as he pointed at Bendy, before making a scary face.

“The other Bendy.” Henry commented. “Well, at least we know of a safe place to get away from him. But I do have some suspicions about… well… those little box things we’ve been seein’. Think we could hide in those from him?”

“Probably!” Bendy grinned. “Or we just run like heck!”

“Yeah, that’s an option. Boris, we’re gonna take the steps to Level K, meet us up there?”

The wolf smiled, pressing a button on the elevator before ascending. Henry gestured to the door to the stairwell and Bendy opened it. They found a small room with desks and boxes inside, possibly both a work space and a storage room. They began walking up the stairs, but as they did, Bendy quietly coughed, catching Henry’s attention.

“Uhh… ol’ man, when we were in… da room wit’ all those bodies, I noticed somethin’.” Bendy spoke quietly, his eyes focused on the stairs as they continued to ascend. “Why didn’t you react to seein’ all those dead toons? Da Borises? You just stood there.”

Henry looked at the devil toon before swallowing. He figured at some point he’d have to tell Bendy about what he had seen on the first floor, no time like the present.

“When I first came to the studio, before I started the machine, there was a room I stumbled into. On display, on a table, was Boris’ corpse. Inside his empty chest was the wrench I needed for the offerings for the Ink Machine.”

Bendy gasped, his eyes wide with horror. “T-There was a dead Boris on da first floor?!”

Nodding, Henry continued. “I didn’t know what to make of it, the room he was in looked like somethin’ from a horror movie! When I started up the power, I looked back in the room, ink was spewin’ from his gapin’ hole. There was also writin’ on the wall, ‘the creator lied to us’. I’ll be honest, I thought it was a cheap joke on Joey’s part, to try and scare me or somethin’. I didn’t think it was real… not until I met you, now I know better. Bendy… I would have told you about him before, but I didn’t want to upset you.”

“… Thank you fer thinkin’ about mah feelin’s, Henry.” Bendy mumbled, he couldn’t blame Henry, he probably would have kept it a secret as well. “But… why are there so many Borises? An’ is da one who saved us… is he _my_ Boris?”

Henry didn’t know how to answer that, and before he could say anything, he gasped. Stumbling up the steps, he clutched his chest. “Henry!” He heard Bendy call out as he doubled over in pain.

Oh… oh no, he knew this pain! It’s been days, but he remembered this physical ache in his heart. It could only mean one thing; the Ink Demon was close…

Putting the wrench into his left hand with his pipe, Henry scooped Bendy up into his right arm and ran up the stairs. He had seen the hints of inky lines on the walls that had just started to make their appearance, and he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He threw open the first door he found with a loud slam as it banged against the wall, startling Boris, who was waiting in the elevator.

Thinking fast, Henry dropping his weapons and used his free hand to throw open the door to the Little Miracle Station in the corner of the room, closing it behind himself.

The human collapsed on the little bench, panting hard, his heart felt like it was on fire! Bendy clung to him tightly, about to ask him if he was okay, only to tense up when he felt a tingling in his eye. The color changing to an inky black, realizing that the other him was so close now. He slapped a hand over Henry’s mouth, trying to cover the man’s heavy breathing as he looked out the peep hole.

Bendy could see the inky trails spreading around the room, ink was dripping from the ceiling, just like the other times they rank into the demonic creature. Boris was cowering in the back of the elevator; the doors were shut for his safety. Bendy watched in fear as the Other Bendy, the Ink Demon, stumbled into the room. He and Henry were surprised to see him, it has been three days and he’s changed so much.

The Other Bendy was taller, his body was so lanky and bony now. He looked malnourished, almost skeletal in appearance. His hands had changed as well, as did his face, the ink on it was dripping rapidly. There seemed to be ink that shifted around the demon, in the air! How was he able to do that? He shuffled like before, his leg still twisted wrong. Despite his changes, Henry felt it in his gut that the Ink Demon was stronger than he originally was in their last encounter.

The demonic-looking Bendy seemed to be searching for something as he turned his head from side to side. Or, it was possible, that he was listening for something, could he still not see? He made his way towards the staircase, pausing only for a moment to ‘look’ at the elevator. The Demon made a strange noise as Boris cowered, though the wolf peeked through his fingers. He let out a fearful growl, as if to try to act brave, which served to amuse the inky monster.

Turning away, the Ink Demon continued to walk up the stairs before a black smear formed on the wall at the top of the balcony of the room. He entered into it, vanishing from sight, along with his inky trails.

Henry started coughing hard before he slammed against the door, tumbling to the floor with Bendy clutched tightly to his chest. He was gasping for air, his heart still pounding, it’s been too long, the Demon had been so close…!

“Henry!” Bendy got out of his hold, hearing Boris running over. The wolf helped Henry sit up, rubbing his back as he tried to breathe correctly. “Henry, buddy, are you alright?!”

Coughing, Henry gave Bendy a shaky smile as he rubbed at the blood under his nose. Coughed so hard that happened, huh, great. “I’m… I’m okay, it’s just been so long… since we’ve encountered him.” He got a soft whine from both Boris and Bendy at this, before there was a crackling from the speakers.

“It seems that you have gotten reacquainted with your old friend, **the Ink Demon**.” Alice chuckled. “ **They say he hears everything. Every creak of the floor. Every rustle of paper**. _I wouldn't run so fast if I were you, you never know what **will draw him in**._ ”

“Hey, lady!” Bendy shouted. “When ya wanna give us advice, how about tellin’ it to us wit’ out da mockin’ tone! Will make things a lot easier fer us!”

Henry held up a finger. “Shh… yellin’ won’t help us, if his hearin’ is as good as she says it is, you might bring him back here.”

Bendy huffed, shaking his head. “Fine, whatever, let’s just… let’s just get goin’ on ‘dis stupid task. But seriously, you okay, Henry? Dat was really bad, ya scared me half to death!”

Henry placed a hand on Bendy’s head, rubbing his horns as he had done before to comfort his demon. “Bud, I’m alright, my ol’ ticker will be okay. Believe me when I say this, that wasn’t the worse thing I’ve been through, I was in the war for two years. Heh, took some nasty damage in that mess, besides…”

He looked at his mark. “This is healin’ me up just fine, don’t worry.”

The toon just nervously nodded, before having Boris help the human up on his feet. Boris moved to pick up the weapons Henry had tossed aside, handing them to Henry, but the man only took the wrench.

“I want you to hold onto the pipe, Boris. That’ll be your weapon, okay? Bendy and I will be fine with the wrench and his powers.”

Boris looked at the pipe, before happily giving him a salute, returning to the elevator. Once he was inside, Bendy and Henry made their way up the stairs as carefully as possible. They were doing their best to be quiet, to be on the look out for any signs of the Ink Bendy.

They crossed the balcony, returning to the hallway with the Bendy statue. Henry noticed a box on the wall, prying it open with the wrench. He found a gear inside, asking Bendy if that’s what they should grab.

“I think it is.” Bendy jumped up, grabbing it, before hearing garbled noises. He yelped, spotting another ‘Charley’ shuffling towards them. It held its weapon, ready to swing, but there was another gear, stuck to its broken arm. “Hold on, I got ‘dis, Henry!”

Rushing over, Bendy sucker punched the deformed toon right in his large jaw. This only served to piss off ‘Charley’, who tried to strike Bendy, but he was slapped two times, knocking him back. Bendy finally got him after another slap, making him pop, exploding on Bendy.

“Ah!” He let out a barrage of weird sound effects, censoring whatever curse words he had said. His face was covered in ink and he started to rub at his eyes. “Gross, gross, gross!”

Henry kneeled down, telling him to hold still as he used the sleeve of the worker’s jumpsuit he was wearing as pants, tied around his waist. “Let me get the ink off of your face.” He said as he started to wipe, getting it off of his left eye.

Bendy was about to say thank you as he opened his off-model eye, only to pause. He didn’t see Henry in front of him, though he knew the other was there. No… he… he saw darkness, swirling darkness, a light was in front of him, just a few feet away. “H-Henry…?”

“Bendy?” Henry blinked. “Bendy, what’s wrong?”

“Wha… what’s goin’ on?” The demon whispered, his eye looking all over at the moving ink tunnel, until he seemed to step into the light, suddenly finding himself in a whole new area. He didn’t know where he was now, he was in a flooded area, he could see a Little Miracle Station, but everything seemed to have a gray film over of it. Like watery ink. Bendy could see the inky trails of the Other Bendy on the walls, what the hell?

Then he saw something new, one of the deformed Butcher Gang members! This one, oh, he remembered this one. It was the one hanging from the ceiling, with its head on a fishing pole.

It was grumbling loudly, approaching Bendy, before it stopped. For a creature that didn’t seem to have many expressions to it, Bendy could see true horror on its face. For some reason… this seemed to give Bendy a sense of malicious glee as he appeared to reach out with an inky, small hand.

He didn’t even touch it, all he did was flick his wrist and it dissolved on its own. Bendy moved once more, heading towards a wall, and entering the black tunnel again as he stepped through an inky stain. Did he just… no, oh gods above, no! How was this possible?!

Bendy yelped and covered his eyes. “No, no!”

“Bendy!” Henry grabbed his shoulders, shaking him gently. “Bendy, what happened?! What’s wrong?!”

He snapped open both his eyes, and he saw a panicked Henry in front of him. No inky tunnel, no Butcher Gang member, no ink trails. He stammered out Henry’s name, looking up at him, blinking a few times, trying to get this himself straightened out.

“What happened? You just started freaking out.”

“I-I saw! I saw what he sees, Henry!” Bendy gasped, his eyes wide. “I saw what da Ink Demon sees… he was in another place here, an’ there was another deformed toon, an’-an’… I saw him kill it! Wit’ out touchin’ it! An’…”

He shuddered, looking at his hands. “I felt what he felt… I felt his joy in killin’ it…”

Henry grimaced, looking at the scared toon. “Bendy… you can see what he sees?”

Bendy nodded. “When I opened just mah weird eye, I could… I could see what he was seein’… it was surreal, I hated it.”

“Is it because you came from the same ink? Cause of your powers? I mean, your eye alerts us to when he’s close, so there must be more of a connection then we thought.”

“I don’t know, an’ I don’t care! I just know I hate it! I don’t wanna see what he sees, I don’t wanna feel what he feels…”

Sighing softly, Henry rubbed his horns as he had done before, it always seemed to calm Bendy down. “It’s alright, I know you don’t wanna hear this but… I think it is helpful, if you can see where he is, what he sees, then we can avoid him better. The Other Bendy is a threat, someone neither of us wants to fight. You don’t have to do it often, but if you feel like you need to see where he is, do it.”

“Can’t you do it? You’ve got a weird eye too.”

Henry frowned, closing his green eye. He only saw Bendy, nothing different. “Nope, it didn’t do anythin’. Guess that’s a power I don’t have. Probably for the best, I’m really not interested in findin’ out what else this ink’s done to my body.” Reaching over, Henry picked up the gear that ‘Charley’ had dropped, slipping it into his pocket, same with the one Bendy had grabbed before.

“I wanna know what kinda stuff ‘dis ink’s got goin’ fer us.” Bendy grumbled, crossing his arms as he walked into the toy storage room. “Also, I kinda wish dat there was a written form or somethin’ for our powers! I wanna know what we can do!”

“You’re not the only one, and shush, don’t be so loud.” Henry replied, spotting another box. He moved to approach it, but a bubbling puddle of ink sprouted a Searcher. Quickly, Henry beat it with the wrench, until it dissolved. “Gonna be honest, I didn’t miss those things.”

“Me neither.” Bendy replied, chuckling as he looked at the plush toys in the room. “Are you sure I can’t take one of da big ones?”

“Can it even fit in your hammerspace?” The former animator asked as he pried open the box, tisking when he found that it was empty, so he moved to find another one in the room.

Bendy looked at the giant Boris that was bigger than himself. He reached behind himself, pulling out a tape measurer, checking the size of the plush toy. Henry watched the toon as he did this, reminded of Bendy doing something like this in a cartoon where he and Boris had tried to build something. It was kinda funny, especially since Bendy was even whistling the little tune he had done in the show.

As Henry returned to prying open a rusty wall mount to get a gear, Bendy happily picked up the plush Boris, tossing it behind himself. “It fits!” He happily exclaimed as it vanished completely behind him.

“Just cause that one fit doesn’t mean the giant version of you will.” Henry snorted as he got the box open, ignoring the loud raspberry Bendy blew at him. He pulled the gear out, but heard the speakers loudly crackle to life, oh no…

“ ** _You're quite the efficient little errand boys, aren't you?_** ” Alice mocked.

“Yeah, yeah.” Henry frowned, pocketing the gear. “How many more do you want?”

“ **That’s all I need.** Return to the lift now, or _do you wish to continue taking the stairs?_ **He is wandering them right now** , from what I can tell, so you might do better with the elevator, boys.”

Bendy raised an eyebrow. “Can… you see us? Him? How are you able to do dat?”

“That is **none of your concern, _Darling Devil_**.” Alice replied, cutting off the speaker.

The devil pouted, shaking his head in annoyance. “Dat dame is a bigger pain in da butt than da Searchers, ya know what I mean?”

“Yeah, really wish she’d just be straight with us. But in this place, that was never an option, Joey was exactly the same way.” Henry spoke as he turned to leave the room, Bendy trailing along.

“I wish I remembered da studio like you did. Wish I remembered a lot, maybe when we figure out how to get outta here, we can also figure out what to do about why I don’t remember much.” He reached behind himself, pulling out the blueprints he had grabbed. “Maybe da Ink Machine is involved.”

Henry noticed them, stopping to take a look. “Where did you get that?”

“Sammy’s office! Found it on his desk next to da radio, I grabbed it to see if it was useful for either of us, but I don’t know, it’s… hard to read.”

Taking it from him, Henry began to look it over. “I’ve repaired cars and trucks before, but I can’t make heads or tails of this. Uhg, whose writin’ is this? It’s like readin’ doctor’s notes. We should still hold onto it, just in case though.” He handed the paper back to Bendy, who tucked it away as they entered the room where the elevator was.

Boris was still there, happily nibbling on his bone. He smiled when he spotted the other two, giving them a wave before he opened the doors for the lift. Bendy ran down the stairs, joining him inside, telling him about the giant toy of the wolf he had grabbed as Henry entered, pressing the button for the ninth level.

As the elevator descended, the Other Alice spoke up. _“Sammy said I had talent, **he was always a good liar...** Still he was once a very handsome man.”_

“She knew Sammy…?” Bendy whispered, staring at the ceiling, hating that he heard _his_ Alice this time, not the scarier one. “Was she… a worker here?”

Henry didn’t reply, the elevator stopped at Level 9. He stepped out with Bendy following after him, the poor toon seemed a little worried. He couldn’t blame Bendy, he’d be worried to if he heard one of his dear friend’s voices speaking like that.

He approached the stairs, hearing the gate for the bridge slam down behind them. “Where do you want me to put the gears?”

“The trash can, please. Along with my wrench.” The Other Alice replied. Once Henry deposited them into the box, she spoke once more. “ **Have you seen them? The swollen ones! They're just stuffed full of extra-thick ink. It makes me sick! And yet...** **_it's the perfect thing for keeping myself together_**. If you're going to catch them, you'll have to learn to move quietly, they should be on Level 11, if I remember correctly. _Come back to my door. I have something that you'll need_.”

“Swollen ones?” Bendy blinked, seeing the tube turn to reveal a strange device. He walked over, reaching up with some trouble to grab it. “What da heck is dis thingy?”

“It’s… some kind of syringe.” Henry took it from him, looking it over. “So, we gotta use this to collect ink, huh? Alright, let’s go find the swollen ones, whatever those are.”

Just like before, the gate opened, letting them head back to the elevator. They decided to take it instead of the stairs, not wanting to risk anything with the Other Bendy walking the stairwell now. Once they arrived on Level 11, they realized what she meant by the ‘swollen ones’.

Standing before a punch card station, across from the elevator, was a large, thick Searcher. One that Henry recognized the shape of.

“Bendy…” He whispered. “Does that look like the Searcher who had the valve?”

“Da one wit’ da hat?” Bendy replied. “I think yer right.”

Reaching up, Bendy took the syringe from Henry, moving to approach the Searcher, but it suddenly vanished. “Ah, sassafras!” He pouted, snapping his foot. He glanced to his right, gasping as he dropped the tool with a loud clunk.

“Bendy, what’s wrong?” The animator asked as he approached.

Bendy pointed to the area attached to the room they were in, where a flooded area was located. “H-Henry… dis is where he was, when I looked through his eyes…!”

Henry frowned, picking up the syringe. “It’s alright, Bendy. Can you check to see where he is right now?”

The toon looked nervous, but nodded, covering his right eye. His yellow one widened, going unfocused, almost… glowing. “He’s in da toy factory, he’s… uhhh…” Bendy looked confused right now. “He’s adjustin’ da cutouts in da room.”

Henry raised an eyebrow, just as confused as Bendy, who uncovered his eye, blinking a few times. “Dat was weird, anyway, let’s go get one of those-” He squeaked when there was a loud moan from nearby, and a splash.

They spotted another Swollen Searcher, which Henry quietly snuck up behind. If this thing was anything like that Swollen Jack Fain Searcher from back in the infirmary, then he would need to be quiet.

He shoved the needle right into its back, pulling back on the plunger. The Searcher quivered and disappeared, back into the ink. He gave a nod, before hearing Bendy speak up, pointing at the blob of thick, sticky ink on the floor a few feet away from where the animator stood. The devil was poking at it a few times, making a face.

“Dis stuff is really gross. Wonder where dis one came from, think a Searcher just dropped it?”

“Probably, who knows, it just makes it easier for us.” Henry commented as he pushed the needle into it, absorbing it into the syringe. He turned towards the ink after he picked up Bendy, walking into the flooded area, careful not to make too much noise.

Bendy glanced around, ducking under the cobwebs, before he perked up when he noticed a tape recorder, wonder who recorded themselves this-

A light was up ahead, moving around ahead of them. Henry swallowed, peeking around the corner at the end of the hall, his mouth dropping at the sight of the source of the light. It was another inky creature, but it was so much more, so much worse.

The body was clearly human in design, coated almost completely in ink, except for the areas where machinery appeared. The creature had something in its chest, possibly a speaker, it was hard to tell. But what was easy to identify was the projector that seemed to be its head! Wires were connected to the projector and its back as the monster moved past a dirty window, then it turned, vanishing from sight.

Carefully, Henry and Bendy got out of the ink and moved into the new room, trying to be quiet. They didn’t see or hear the creature, and even looking in the direction it went into showed just a gated off area.

Bendy let out a worried squeak. “What da heck was dat thing…?”

“I don’t know, and I hope we never see it again. Already had enough trouble dealin’ with Alice and the other you lookin’ different, no more monsters.” He shook his head, leaving the room when he heard another Swollen Searcher, just outside of the room.

Bendy took the needle from him again, wanting to get this ink. He happily approached and stabbed it right in the back, pulling the plunger.

Like before, the speakers popped and crackled.

“ **How sickening! Makes my skin crawl!** But the task is done. Bring me back my equipment, please.”

“You sure like to boss us around, ya ol’ broad-!” The last word Bendy said was muffled by Henry’s hand over his mouth, he quickly swatted it away.

The Other Alice just chuckled. “ **It would be wise for you to hold that tongue of yours _, Devil_**. You don’t want to say the wrong thing that could… oh… I don’t know… _cause one of your little friends to be added to my ever-growing collection?_ ”

Bendy snarled, narrowing his eyes as he clenched his fists. “How _dare_ you say dat in _her_ voice! Stop doin’ dat!”

“Bendy!” Henry hissed, putting a finger to his mouth. “Stop, both of you. Listen, Angel, we’ll keep doin’ your dirty work as long as you stop provokin’ him. Honestly, for your sake, you really shouldn’t mess with him. I’m sure you saw what he did to that Charley from before.”

She actually growled in response. **“Yes, I witnessed it. You may not exactly be the Ink Demon, but you can do damage with a touch… fine, I will keep my teasing and taunts to a minimum. Just keep… your friend at bay.”**

“Deal.” Henry huffed, scooping Bendy back up into his arms. The little devil was literally steaming, smoke coming out of the top of his head. “Bud, don’t let her get to you, she just wants to get a rise out you.”

“Oh, she sure as heck got it outta me!” Bendy snarled, before he pouted, crossing his arms as he leaned against Henry’s chest. He sighed, closing his eyes as Henry walked, trying to calm himself down. No need to get angry, that’s what she wants, he just knows it.

Once they were back in the elevator area, Henry noticed that it wasn’t there. “Ah damnit, Boris must have went to another floor.” He set Bendy down to push the call button.

As Henry did this, Bendy decided to check out what was behind a door, happily noticing instruments sitting on a landing in the stairwell. He glanced back at Henry, before grinning as he approached a piano, pushing a few keys. Then he noticed a radio, instinct kicking in for him to dance a jig to a good jam!

He turned a knob, but the music came out loudly, playing a booming, proud-sounding song. He squeaked, trying to adjust the volume, but the knob didn’t work. Oh no, oh no! It was so loud; the Ink Demon was sure to hear it…!

“Bendy!” Henry came up behind him. “What the heck, punk?”

“I-I didn’t know it was gonna be dat loud!” Bendy waved his arms about, hearing the radio start to fizzle out, before it just stopped, a bit of smoke coming out of it. They stood there, completely silent, waiting for any sign of the Demon.

There was a sound though, but nothing like what they had expected.

_“We've all been waiting. But now... he will set... us... free...”_

“Sammy…?” Bendy and Henry whispered at the same time, nearly screaming when they heard the ding of the elevator in the other room.

They looked at one another, both opening their mouths to ask if that was really him, but they didn’t get a chance to. Ink started to crawl up the walls of the stairwell, and they were spreading fast. Any thought of why they heard Sammy’s voice was completely forgotten as they realized that the Ink Demon was making his way up the stairs. A sharp whistle caught their attention and they ran into the room from before, seeing Boris standing there, fear on his face as he waved them over.

They rushed into the elevator, just as Boris hit the door button. They were lucky, as the Ink Demon had just wandered into the room. He seemed to be looking around before he growled lightly, approaching the elevator.

The trio backed up, with Henry standing in front of the toons, acting as a human shield. He clutched the syringe, as if it was the only thing that could do this beast damage, though he had a feeling it wouldn’t do anything. The Ink Demon seemed to be staring at them, his grin growing as he moved towards the elevator, pushing his long arm in between the metal bars. He put his cartoony hand on the button panel for the lift, gently brushing his fingers against it.

**‘Don’t let her kill you, get her before she gets the chance. She only feels hatred for you. Keep them safe for me, for now.’**

Henry blinked, who just spoke? That voice… was it? Was it the Demon that just pushed the button for Level 9? Said demon pulled his arm back out quickly, watching them descend.

Bendy looked confused, glancing up at Henry. “What was dat for?”

Henry just stood there, his hold on the ink tool tightened, his hands shaking. He didn’t know what to say, he felt like that creature had spoken to him, in his head. What did he mean about her killing him? And keeping ‘them safe for him’? What did that mean? God damn, this whole… moment, was so weird. First that voice that sounded like Sammy, now the monster Bendy knew how the elevator worked?

He was taken out of his thoughts by the Other Alice’s voice. _“There was a time where people knew my name. "It's Alice Angel!", They'd say. Feels like so long ago. But those days can come back. Dreams come true, Susie. **Dreams come true**.”_

Bendy whined beside Henry’ clutching his head. “She needs to stop dat… she needs to stop talkin’ like Alice…!” He felt two hands on his head, Henry’s rubbing his horns, Boris rubbing the back of his head as he tried to relax. He had to stop letting her get to him, he had to stop listening to her.

But that wasn’t easy when he knew she was gonna send them on another mission, he could feel it in his ink.

\--

And Bendy was right!

She had another stupid task for them!

Turn some valves, collect power cores, whatever that means! Well, they figured out what a power core was after Henry beat the stuffing out of a mutated version of Edgar with the plunger the Other Alice had given him. The mocking monster had been holding it, and now Bendy had it in Henry’s bag he had gotten from Boris.

“I think these are the valves we gotta turn.” Henry commented as he looked at a strange device on the wall, made of metal and glass tubes. A little door was open on the side, and the fluid inside of the glass tubes was set at an even level. “Looks like we’re gonna have to find two more, if she wants us to collect three.”

He turned one of the valves on the device, hearing a horribly loud squeaking from it. Both him and the imp paused, trying to hear for anything from the Ink Demon, but there was nothing.

“We… gotta turn six of those things.” Bendy winced. “Might be risky, I think these things might get us into some serious trouble…”

Henry nodded, glancing around behind him to the strange room with glass walls. He could see a wall mount in there as he tapped his chin in thought, pausing when he unconsciously noticed his mark. He looked at the black Bendy head on his palm, before an idea came to him. “I have an idea, might save us some time.”

He gestured for Bendy to follow him into the room, both were happy to notice that a Little Miracle Station sat right outside of it. Henry entered, standing in front of the valves as he held out his hand. Ink pooled out of his mark, forming into a little Bendy, then three more followed after it. Through his practicing yesterday, Henry was able to make the tiny clones actually look like Bendy, with the white features included, not just being solid black with hints of his facial features. It did take a bit of energy, but Bendy seemed to like it when Henry made them look more like him.

“Alright boys, I’m gonna need you four to do me a favor. Turn those little valves until they’re all lined up with the black dots in the middle and get the power core when that little door opens. Can you do that?”

The four Bendys happily nodded, three grabbing onto the valves, one moving to sit above the box with the little door with the mission to open the door. “Now, don’t start turnin’ until I give the signal.”

He created four more and handed them to Bendy, who giggled and laughed as his little clones crawled all over him. “I think that other area over there might have another valve panel. Tell ‘em what I told these ones, and hurry, we don’t have a lot of time.”

“Got it!” Bendy grinned, happily running off to the next area with his clones. He came back soon after and was picked up, taken into the Little Miracle Station.

Henry felt his heart beating, but he knew it was due to his own stress, not caused by the Other Bendy. He breathed out before calling out for the Bendy clones to start turning. He could hear the loud, rapid squeaking of several wheels echoing in the area, which seemed to alert the Ink Demon as he pushed himself through an inky portal in the wall.

He shuffled out into the hall, walking between the two glassed-wall areas, the Bendy clones having stopped their turning. They worriedly watched as the scarier version of their bigger counterpart stumbled about, trying to pick up on any noises. The little Bendys near Henry and Bendy were so close to finishing their task, they decided to take the risk, even though the other clones weren’t going to.

They started to turn their wheels again, much to Henry’s worry. The Other Bendy stopped, turning his head in the direction of the sound, he seemed rather confused, making a noise to match so. He made a motion, much like a shrug, before continuing to walk out of sight, just as the door for the power core opened.

Henry and Bendy waited quietly, soon they no longer saw the inky trails, nor did they hear any of the demon’s noises. Henry opened the door, peeking out, just in time to see the two sets of clones happily rushing towards him.

All eight were carrying the cores, smiling brightly as they approached with the objects. When Henry took them from the inky beings, they looked at him with pride.

“Heh, you did amazin’, guys.” He held out his hand on the floor, one of them approached and touched the mark, slipping back into a puddle to be absorbed. It was something Henry had tried out before, seeing if he could return the ink into his mark if the Bendys returned to him, which was an interesting thing to experience. It was… a strange feeling, to say the least.

Once they were all gone, Henry stood back up, giving Bendy the power cores to put into the bag. They left the area, walking past the wall with **I DON’T WANT TO WORK HERE ANYMORE** scrawled on it. Henry wanted to avoid looking at it as much as possible, but there was a hall leading to the stairwell that had his attention.

Something… called out to him from it, but he wasn’t sure what it was. Right now, though, he had to return to the angel, seeing as she decided to make her presence known again. Uhg, he should have known…

“ **Return to me. Try not to die on the way back.** ”

“Oh, like we haven’t been tryin’.” Bendy rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he headed for the elevator. He stopped when he noticed Henry wasn’t following. “Ol’ man, whatcha doin’?”

Henry seemed to be staring down the hall, where there was a flooded area. When they first came to this floor, they had checked there to see if anything was coming when they heard chittering. They killed the Butcher Gang member there, just outside of a flooded area.

That was where Henry felt the strange feeling, it made his right eye twitch. He shook his head, snapping out of it. “Sorry, I’m comin’, just got distracted.”

“You wanna take a break when we get back to Level 9? Split a can of soup with Boris?”

Henry smiled a little, giving a nod. He could really use a break, who knew what else that damned angel had in store for them…

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three pages shorter than chapter seven, but that’s fine by me!
> 
> So, I bet you’re wondering why I mentioned Jack Fain. I went back and updated chapter three to include the stuff in the sewer and Sammy’s new sanctuary. This is just part of the HUGE update I’m gonna do where I include the updates to the previous chapters.
> 
> Which means I have to redo the scene where Henry meets the Bendys, so not only do I have to RE-WRITE that big scene, but I have to do new art for it as well! 
> 
> Appreciate blob!Bendy while you can, cause I’ll be removing it from the fanfic after I finish writing the Chapter Three content. Just like there were massive updates with the release of Chapter Four, I will be doing the same when I post up the first part for the content for Chapter Four in this story. I’ll post the updated chapter one right before I post up chapter ten for this story.
> 
> Next chapter: Henry and Bendy have three more chores to do for the fallen angel, with terrifying results involved with some of them. And Bendy finds out something interesting about himself that he really wished he hadn’t.
> 
> The longer they stay in the studio, the further they travel, the more secrets and lies are revealed to the creator and his creation.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please comment and kudos!


	9. Just for the Sake, Fetch Me the Tools so I Create this Instrument of Cyanide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice has just a few more teensy, weensy favors for her little errand boys to do for her before she’ll allow them access to the exit. But there seems to be some issues with these plans, from multiple sources…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, the last chapter for the Chapter Three saga, and something I’ve been wanting to write since I started this story. I hope you enjoy it, I’ve had the scene written out for a while in my notes for the au.
> 
> Just a heads up, I’m gonna take a small break from the story after this chapter so I can edit chapter one to include the updates from the Chapter Four release. I want to include the new Ink Machine room and I also want to fix grammar errors throughout the story, so it looks nice.
> 
> This chapter originally had lyrics from Absolutely Everything (by CG5) for its chapter title, but with the release of DAGames’ newest Bendy song, I couldn’t resist going with lyrics from Instruments of Cyanide. It’s Chapter Three-based and fitting of this chapter, also, it’s the rock opera that Bendy’s always needed.
> 
> Warning: Crazy shit is gonna happen, stuff that I’ve had planned from the very beginning but couldn’t do until now
> 
> On with the fic!

After a short break in the elevator, a ten-minute rest or so, Bendy and Henry returned to the Other Alice. They deposited the cores and plunger into the waste basket, just as they had done with the previous items.

She chuckled a little as she spoke up once more. **“You see those grinning demons? Let's remove them, shall we? _I've got just the tool_ to make this even more _enjoyable_.”**

The tube revealed an axe, one that looked exactly like the one Henry had used before. He shivered, wondering how she knew he had used one, how… much of the studio did she have access to view? He moved to approach the axe, but she stopped him.

“ **No. I don’t want you using it, errand boy.** I want your **little devil darling** to be the one to use it on **_those cutouts of his silly, smiling face._** ” She said, her voice as sweet as a cyanide pill coated in honey. “ _Wouldn’t that be more fun for you two?_ **I think so**.”

“Excuse me?!” Bendy shouted, his eyes burning with anger. “You want me, _me_ , to be da one to cut up da cutouts?! Are you crazy?! Do ya got a screw loose or somethin’, girly?”

_“I think I’ve made myself as clear as crystal, or is this too difficult of a task for you, **Demon?** ”_

Bendy snarled and approached the doors, punching them rapidly, his hands smearing like a fast-moving bit of animation. He was striking the door hard enough to actually leave dents in the metal as his golden eye looked wild, even more off-model than normal.

“Bendy, Alice!” Henry called out. “What the hell did I tell you two?! Stop provokin’ each other, I’ll do the task, god damn!” He grabbed the axe and started to storm down the stairs. He was getting tired of this. He was tired of her insulting and egging Bendy on, he was tired of Bendy getting worked up because she was teasing him. He was tired of the monsters, the tasks, the fact that there was something up with Boris that made him suspicious of the guy.

Henry was tired of the Ink Demon that wandered the halls, hell, he was tired of the halls! The ink! The whole damn studio! He just wanted to go home, forget about this whole thing with Joey, who cares about that asshole! He didn’t want to try to mend their broken friendship, he didn’t want to have anything to do with Joey Drew anymore, all he wanted was to leave.

Bendy stopped punching the door, panting hard, before he noticed that Henry was already up by the elevator. “H-Henry, wait…! Wait for me..!” Bendy moved as fast as he could, getting into the elevator just in time before the doors closed, the lift beginning to make its way to Level K.

He panted a little, making a small joke about how fast Henry’s short legs could be when he wanted them to be, but the human wasn’t looking at him. The imp’s smile dropped when he saw how serious Henry looked, his mix-matched eyes glaring holes into the control panel for the elevator. His grip on the axe was so tight that Bendy could actually see ink from his mark dripping between his fingers.

“H… Henry…?” He nervously spoke, reaching a hand out towards his friend, but the elevator came to a stop and Henry stepped out, moving behind the wooden staircase in the balcony room of Level K. He approached the Bendy cutout and slashed right through it, decapitating the cardboard copy of the Li’l Devil Darlin’.

Bendy gulped, putting a hand to his non-existent neck. “Henry? What’s wrong…?” He asked, glancing back at Boris, who looked like he wasn’t going to deal with this.

Henry glanced back at him, the white of his golden eye was black, and he looked… tired, if not a little angry. “Let’s just get this done with, kid, the faster we do it, the faster we can get out of this place.” He replied as he climbed his way over the banister to get on the staircase, heading up to the toy department.

The devil tugged on his bowtie nervously before straightening up, following after Henry. “Ol’ man, talk to me, what’s goin’ on in dat noggin of yours. You can tell me… right?”

The former animator stopped walking, he swung the axe and slashed the door of the Little Miracle Station in the corner of the balcony, making Bendy jump at the sudden action.

Henry shuddered and looked at him, frowning softly. “I’m just… exhausted.”

“Oh, do ya need to sit down?”

“No, not that kind of exhausted. I just want to go home, Bendy. I didn’t want any of this when I decided to come back to the studio. I thought Joey just wanted to talk, I thought we were gonna finally bury the hatchet, clean up the bad blood between us, but instead… I come back to Hell on Earth and a wild goose chase!”

He moved to swing the axe again, but he stopped, he just looked at the slash he had made through the halo on the door, before he lowered his arm. “Not that I don’t love having you here with me, Bendy, don’t get me wrong on that. I’m happy to see you, beyond happy, to be honest, since you meant so much to me when I was younger, you still do. But…”

“You weren’t expectin’ to come back to a horrorfest, seein’ what ya helped create turn into all dis.” Bendy added on, frowning deeply. “I don’t blame ya for bein’ mad, but you keep tellin’ me to stop bein’ mad at her! I know you’re angry cause she keeps makin’ ya do these stupid as all heck things fer her!”

He snatched the axe away from his creator. “Well listen up, bub! If I’m not allowed to throw a hissy fit about it, then neither are you! We just gotta suck it up and deal with her baloney! It’s just another chapter in our adventure of gettin’ da hell outta here, even if this chapter’s antagonist is a real jerk and a half! So, we both wanna vent out our frustrations with violence, but we’re just gonna have to be good boys an’ not give in!”

“You beat up her door.”

“An’ you just tried to break her hidin’ box, so you got no room to talk.” Bendy chuckled, resting the axe on his shoulder. “Look, we’re both stressed an’ wanna get outta here. As much as I’d like to give dat fake angel a piece of my mind, I wanna get outta here more, so we might as well go… uhg… cut up me an’ get dis over wit’.”

Henry frowned, walking with Bendy into the toy storage area, remember that there were cutouts there. “You don’t have to be the one to cut them up, you don’t have to do what she wants.”

“I don’t wan’cha freakin’ out on me, Henry. Yer eye was black, still is.” He saw Henry rubbing at his eye now. “I’m a li’l worried, Henry… if you get really angry, like you did before in da demon room, are you gonna turn into a monster like I did?”

“You weren’t a monster.” Henry replied as he watched Bendy swing the axe, breaking a cutout, before moving onto another. “And I don’t think it will do anythin’ like that to me. I’m not made of ink, it won’t change me.”

… Will it?

The ink had done things to him already, clearly it gave him the power to create Bendys and to heal himself and his demon companion quickly. There was ink in his body, it’s probably what kept him alive after he was killed by those Searchers. Hell, he actually survived the ink! How was that possible? What could this ink change of him? Would be become an ink creature eventually? Bendy had mentioned that things happened to the humans in the studio after they got yellow eyes.

That Alice has a yellow eye, and there is so much wrong with her. She’s clearly made from the ink, she even said that she came out of it twice. Would something like that, a physical change for the worse, happen to Henry if he were to die again?

There was something terrifying, yet curious, about becoming something from the ink. That thought scared Henry greatly, why would he want to know what it’s like to be one of these ink beings?! The Butcher Gang looked to always be in pain, Alice was a disaster, Sammy went off the deep end, Jack probably became that Searcher, and who knows what the hell happened to everyone else!

Then there’s Boris, Henry has a terrible feeling that the friendly wolf might actually be, well, Wally Franks. It’s a strange thing to assume, but it’s a suspicion that’s been on Henry’s mind for hours now.

And what about the Other Bendy? And… Bendy himself? Were they real, living toons? Actual demons? Or were they ink beings once made from humans? He didn’t want to see his friend as anything other than a real, living toon, He didn’t want Bendy to have once been human, or a demon who could turn on him at any moment.

And if Bendy is a demon, what did that make Henry? He was suspicious of the ink in his body, he didn’t get it until after he got it into the cut on his hand and when Bendy slapped a wet hand over his mouth. And Bendy probably took his blood, some sort of exchange? Did this mean Henry was a demon? Would him dying again bring out inner demon qualities or something, like Bendy’s rage and uncontrolled emotions did?

Henry was, frighteningly enough, half-tempted to try something to answer those questions…

“Henry?”

But he knew better, no, the former animator could never really do that.

“Henry? Hey!”

Could he?

“HERNY!”

Blinking, Henry looked down at Bendy, suddenly noticing they were in the Shawn Flynn’s work shop. “What the? How did we…?” Did he walk all the way here while lost in thought?

“You okay, ol’ man?” Bendy asked, leaning on the axe. “You were spacin’ out really hard there, did ya even notice I took out some of them cutouts of mah beautiful face?”

“Uhh… no, sorry. I just… had a lot on my mind. Can I take out the rest of the cutouts? I need a distraction.”

Bendy frowned, suspicious, but he held out the axe for Henry to take. Once he held it in his hands, Henry moved out to the Heavenly Toys room, finding the last eight cutouts in the room. The smiling faces of Bendy the Dancing Demon were not a threat, but Henry had a feeling that they could call upon one if they took out enough of those cardboard demons.

Evening his breathes, trying to calm himself down, the human made his way down the stairs and started to cut up the Bendys, the real one watching with worry clear on his face. He knew that something was on Henry’s mind, but he couldn’t tell what! What had Henry so distracted, yet so focused, what was troubling him?

Was it the Other Alice? Or the Ink Demon? Joey, maybe?

“Bendy… I want you to hide in the box.” Henry spoke so softly that the demon almost missed his words, but he still heard them. Just like Henry had been distracted before, Bendy hadn’t realized that Henry had cut up seven of the eight remaining standees.

“What? Why?!” He shouted, not caring that the Ink Demon could appear just from that.

Actually, now that he thought about it, they were due for another visit from that guy! It’s been a while since they last saw any trace of him. Bendy glared daggers at his creator, who was just looking at the last cutout, the last grinning demon.

Then he realized what this meant.

“Henry… H-Henry, no..! You’re gonna run an’ hide wit’ me!” Bendy had been curious as to what the other him had been doing with the cutouts earlier when he last looked through his eyes. He realized that these were important to the Ink Demon and destroying them might summon him.

Turning, Henry just smiled sadly at him. “Bud, there’s somethin’ I need to do with this last one. Get in the station and wait, I’ll join you in a second. Just got one left to break for her. I need to test somethin’ out, trust me on this, it’s important for both of us.”

Bendy wanted to protest, he wanted to scream and kicked and break the cutout of himself before Henry could do it… but he bowed his head before he walked to the Little Miracle Station.

“You better not die on me, Ross, cause I’ll come after ya if you do! I promise!” Bendy pointed at him, seeing Henry’s smile lighten up a little.

“I’ll hold you to that promise, kid.” Henry replied, getting a nod from the toon. Bendy closed the door and stood on the small seat, peeking out the hole as he watched Henry raise the axe.

He shut his right eye the moment the axe was brought down and now he was looking into the room where they had first encountered that evil Alice. He could feel an anger bubble in his chest from the strike to the cardboard Bendy, then it was dark.

But Bendy knew this darkness now, this was the Puddles. It had to be, Alice said it was a screaming well of voices, it only made sense for this strange place to be the Dark Puddles she spoke of. Guess this was how the other him traveled from place to place. Of course, a demonic being like him wouldn’t be scared or worried about a place of ink and death. How did Henry get out of this place as easily as he did?

Suddenly he could see clearly again, and he was looking down the stairs into the Heavenly Toys room, where he and Henry were. The anger was still there, but there was also a sense of curiosity that was not his own. Henry just stood there, his head bowed, the axe in his hand. Bendy felt the phantom sensation of a grin on his mouth, when he knew damn well he himself was frowning.

“Henry…” Bendy whispered, trying to get the human’s attention from inside the box as he ‘watched’ through the ‘eyes’ of his other self.

He opened his right eye, watching as Henry turned, seeing that the other Bendy was walking down the stairs. He whimpered, Henry wasn’t running, he wasn’t doing anything! He had time to get to the box, why couldn’t he move his old man legs?! Was it because the demonic Bendy had already spotted him? Did he know this?

Then again… Henry said he was testing something, what was it? Pushing his luck when it came to the dreaded Other Bendy!? Henry better have a damn good reason for this test of his.

Bendy let out a weak squeaky sound as he cowered behind the door, his heart beating like a drum as the inky lines spread all over the room now. Was this what Henry felt whenever the Other Bendy made his presence known? His chest really hurt, he could feel his ink running, there was a coppery taste in his mouth now.

Oooh… Bendy didn’t like this, he didn’t like this at all…

“Henry…” He whispered again, trying to get the artist’s attention, but he just watched Henry grip his axe tighter, as if ready to fight.

Henry stared at the Ink Demon, who shuffled his way over to him. It was strange, he wasn’t giving chase, and his lines were thin, not thick, as they had been lately. It seems to Henry that the monster was being cautious, curious, even though he clearly appeared aggressive towards the human. Soon, the Ink Demon stopped, just a foot from Henry. His grin was big, shaking wildly, as he leaned in slightly.

 **‘You destroyed my face.’** His signature grin dropped, as he turned his head from left to right, seeming to be looking at the broken pieces of cardboard that were scattered about.

 **‘You destroyed them all, Henry Ross. How… cruel.’** He snapped his head back in Henry’s direction, his mouth twitched.

“Yes, I did.” Henry replied quietly, but he wasn’t backing down. “Are you gonna do it? Finally kill me? You sure seemed ready to do so since we first met. Or are you gonna fight me, demon?”

The smile just grew as the Other Bendy wrapped his hand around Henry’s throat, making him gag and claw at the inky hand.

 **‘We’ll just have to see what happens, Creator.’** The Ink Demon lifted Henry up off the ground, before throwing him. Henry gasped in pain when he struck the fountain’s tower, before dropping into the ink, sinking beneath it quickly.

**_“HENRY!”_ **

The demon turned sharply, ‘watching’ through the eyes of the images and toys of his counterpart as Bendy kicked open the door to the station. The smaller of the two was furious, a wild look in his eyes as he stood there, snarling, ink running down his face. He charged towards the taller devil, his body changing as he moved to strike him.

The Ink Demon let out a pleased sound, dodging the wild swing, as he watched Bendy. The toon was taking on a new form, his limbs were longer, ink was dripping off of him and covering his cartoon eye. His gloved hands became clawed, and he was ready to use them on his counterpart. This interested the Other Bendy greatly, it only helped to influence him on his mission to make Bendy and Henry his.

 **‘I see that you’re taking on my influences, little me. I must say, I am enjoying the changes. Are you ready to join me once more?’** He asked, easily moving away from another attack. **‘I don’t know why you resist, you clearly wish for it, I know you do. Even your precious Creator has had thoughts of joining the ink.’**

Bendy snarled, striking the other with his fist, right in his face. The Ink Demon stumbled back, touching his cheek, before letting out a sound that could be considered a laugh, if it didn’t sound so unsettling.

**‘Just give up, it is only a matter of time before we are perfect.’** The Other Bendy spoke, his voice echoing in Bendy’s head, which only served to irritate him even more.

Perfect, he was so tired of that word! That evil version of Alice kept saying it, and he always, _always_ hated it when Joey would say it!

 _“I will never join you! I’m not goin’ back to da ink again! Now give me back my Henry!_ ” Bendy screamed, ink running from his single eye as he tried to attack again, only to be struck in the stomach. He spat out ink and fell back, looking up at the taller demon, the signature smile was now a harsh frown as he ‘stared’ at his counterpart. Bendy struggled to get back up, but the Other Bendy shoved him back down with a hard press of his normal foot.

**‘Why do you fight for the Creator? He abandoned us to this hellhole. To _his_ mercy. To _his_ plans. You are better off back in the ink, you’ll be spared of the pain for what _he_ has planned.’ **

_“I fight for Henry… cause he’s da most important thing in mah life! He keeps me from bein’ lonely, he keeps me sane, he protects me, he’s mah best friend an’ I’ll do anythin’ in mah power to keep him safe! But you- you killed him…! You killed him, put him in dat blasted ink! Give him back, give him back! If you want me so badly…”_ Inky lines began to spread from under Bendy as the gold of his eye became a single speck in a sea of black.

**_‘THAN TAKE ME INSTEAD!’_ **

The Ink Demon tilted his head, curious of Bendy’s words **. ‘You offer yourself… in exchange for the Creator?’**

 ** _‘Yes…’_** Bendy hissed back mentally. **_‘I offer myself to you, in order to have Henry returned, alive and well.’_**

The Demon turned his head in the direction of the fountain. He seemed to be lost in thought, considering the option… before his grin returned, wider than ever before.

**‘Yes… yes, I like this deal, however I want a change in it.’**

Bendy blinked, narrowing his eye. **_‘And what would that be?’_**

**‘I will return Henry to you, as you demanded, and I will take you in his place… but not now. _He_ wants you both dead, returned to _him_ , yet I want you both alive, and I have my own plans for you. Even if it pains me to release the two of you from this grand opportunity to take you both now, I want you alive.’**

He returned his ‘gaze’ to Bendy once more. **‘You can help me out, and I will spare you for now. It messes with both _his_ plans and hers, and that is more enjoyable to me than sending you both to the ink.’**

He chuckled as he approached the fountain, dipping his cartoony hand into the ink, swishing it about, as if looking for something. He stopped and yanked on something hard. It was an arm, and then he pulled again, removing the rest of Henry from the inky pool.

The human was gagging hard, coughing up clumps of ink, his golden eye glowing under the ink that covered his face. He was dropped to the ground without much grace by the Other Bendy, who seemed rather amused.

**‘Remember our deal, little me. I saved your human, and I delayed your payment, so you and the Creator can take on the Angel and _him_.’**

He started for the stairs as Bendy rushed to Henry’s side, rubbing his back to help with his harsh coughs once he got him to sit up. The Ink Demon stopped half-way up, ‘looking’ over his shoulder. **‘I do not like doing favors, you only get one, as does Henry. Tell him he will get his in due time.’**

With that, the Ink Demon made his way up the stairs and through a portal in the wall.

Bendy watched him leave before looking at Henry, the ink on his face coming off like water, leaving no stains on his skin. Must be an effect from the ink in his body, Bendy thought. The imp let out a small sigh, keeping Henry close.

 _“You’re alive… you’re okay…”_ He mumbled, smiling a little.

“Yeah…” Henry wheezed, spitting out another bit of ink as he looked up at Bendy with one gold and one green eye. Minus that odd eye, Henry looked perfectly normal, that had to be a good sign. “I saw… I saw in the ink, this room, but I was… fightin’ the other you, couldn’t hear anythin’, but I saw stuff. But only when I kept my right eye open…”

 _“Wh-what?”_ Bendy frowned, tilting his head. _“You mean, like when… like when I can see outta da other me’s eyes? Were you seein’ what I was seein’?”_

Henry nodded, letting out a small sigh as he closed his eyes. “The ink keeps us connected, Bendy, in more ways than one, it seems. Can you… help me to the elevator, please? I need a breather…”

 _“Sure.”_ Bendy helped him to his feet, moving him to sit on one of the couches before he went to retrieve the axe Henry had dropped before he was thrown in the fountain.

The human watched him, noticing that Bendy looked… different. “Your body… you look like a demon. Is it like before, in the hall?”

 _“… I suppose it could be dat. I don’t think I looked like how he use to look when ya found me in da hallway, though.”_ Bendy replied as he helped Henry to his feet, it hadn’t gone unnoticed by Bendy of just how he looked at the moment.

He was tall, so very tall, with long limps. His hands were bigger, clawed, his shoes were gone, they looked more like cloven feet of some sort. His ink was so much more fluid, shifting about on him… he looked at Henry, who looked back at him. _“I guess… dis is a new form of mine.”_

“What happened?”

Bendy sighed, rubbing at the inky part of his face, removing some of it to reveal his cartoon eye. _“He… threw you in da ink, an’ I just… snapped. An’ da next thing I know, I’ve suckered punched him in da face an’ he started talkin’ to me. Askin’ me to join him… what does dat mean, I dunno. But I told him to bring ya back! An’ ya know what he did?”_

“He brought me back.” Henry replied as he rubbed his throat. He headed for the stairs with the demonic toon, leaning against him for help. His legs felt like gelatin right now, he needs all the support he can get. “But… why? He’s been chasin’ us since we started the errands list. Hell, even before then, but still.”

_“He, uh, look, I ain’t gonna sugarcoat it fer ya, Henry. I offered myself in exchange for yer life.”_

Henry stopped, eyes wide as he looked back at Bendy. “No…”

 _“You were gonna fight him! I saw you just standin’ there! Watchin’ him! An’ ya didn’t do anythin’!”_ Bendy shouted, watery ink coming to his eyes. _“What were you doin’, Henry? What were you thinkin’?!”_

“…” Henry bowed his head. “I just wanted to see what he wanted with us, why he was chasin’ us around. I was gonna see if I could finally get some answers outta him instead of just runnin’ and hidin’ like normal. It was pointless, I never got an answer.”

 _“I did. Kinda.”_ Bendy replied, his ink was beginning to run off of him, coming off in small clumps. _“I made da deal, my life for yours. He said dat it would mess up da plans of someone here, never said a name, but I think it might be Joey. Joey wants us dead, but da other me wants us alive, so he spared ya. An’… he let me go, fer now, said we need to stop da Angel.”_

A soft scoff came from the human as he started to walk again, coughing lightly, still tasting ink on his tongue. “So, he wants us to do some dirty work for him as well. Since it’s to take care of Alice, well… maybe it won’t be so bad.” He said softly, you never know if and when she’s listening.

Bendy clucked his tongue. _“Why da heck do we gotta be everyone’s errand boys? Sammy had us clear da ink for him, da not-Alice is makin’ us get her stuff for her beauty treatment, an’ da other me wants us to take her out? UHG!”_ He shook his arm, ink splattering everywhere, his arm looking smaller now.

Henry chuckled a little. “Looks like you’re changin’ back to normal. You’re leakin’ a lot of ink.” He also felt the cold, wet liquid soaking into his clothes as he kept himself pressed against the devil for support. Jeez, and he just got these new clothes earlier, oh well, they were bound to get soaked anyway.

The demon blinked, looking at his arm, shaking it a bit more to remove some of the excess ink. _“I guess when I calm down, I go back to bein’ Bendy.”_

“Good to note.”

The duo continued their way back to the elevator, not hearing anything from the Other Alice or Bendy. That was both a good sign and a bad sign. By the time they returned to the elevator, Bendy was back to how he looked before he changed forms, minus a bit of wet ink here and there. Henry was no longer using him for support, instead he used the axe as a makeshift cane.

Boris was quietly waiting for them, nodding his head to some song that only he seemed to hear. He gave them a little wave when they entered, relaxing when he noticed that Henry seemed to be in a much better mood. Quietly, he approached the animator, gently giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Henry looked up at him, smiling as he gave the cartoony hand a few pats, thanking him as the elevator began to make yet another trip down to Level 9. Like before, the Angel made herself known, though there was a sad tone to her voice this time, especially near the end.

_“Once upon a time, there was an angel. And she was beautiful. And loved by all. She was perfect. No matter what Joey says...”_

She sounded close to tears. If she wasn’t so demanding and up to something, Henry would have felt sorry for her, but that comment about Joey made him suspicious. How close was this woman to the people in the studio, how close was she to the real Alice Angel? And for that matter, did she do something to the real Alice? Bendy seemed to remember Alice being a toon in the studio, like himself and Boris.

But there were some issues with this. There was no evidence of Alice running around, and Bendy never knew of the Boris clones, he had actually been terrified and shocked by all the clones in that one room. No tapes that they had found have mentioned any of the toons either. No mentions of Boris or Alice, not even of Bendy himself.

Henry glanced at the toon by his side, how long has Bendy actually been around? How much did he really know about the studio, and was he just missing memories? Or were some altered…?

The elevator came to a stop and Henry stepped out, glancing to his left. Hm, while he still had the axe, he could check out what was behind the boarded-up door he had noticed earlier. Maybe there was a clue in there? Couldn’t help to check.

The Other Alice hadn’t given him a command to come back to her doors, so he took that as his chance to go check out what was over there. Bendy followed him curiously, wondering what his creator was up to now.

“I noticed this door was boarded up, figured that there could be something useful behind it.” Henry raised his axe, breaking through the three boards. Opening the door revealed a small, very cramped office. It was more like a closet then a room, but a desk sat inside, with some crates. Another audio log sat on the desk, next to a small Bendy desk piece. The machine had a label on it, probably from a label maker, that said ‘Grant Cohen’ on it.

A Searcher appeared in the room, but it was quickly punched by Bendy, who moved to click play on the recorder.

_“They say, uh, the real problem with Mr. Drew is that he never actually tells us little people anything._

_Oh sure, according to him there's always ‘big stuff coming’, adventure and fame and the like. But, uh,_ I'm _the guy, see, who has to make sure our budgets don't go all out of whack just cause genius upstairs went out and got himself another idea._

_Speaking of which, heh, and this is top secret… apparently Mr. Drew has another large project in mind now, and it ain't gonna be cheap.”_

“Another large project, eh?” Henry crossed his arms, shaking his head with a sigh. “Wonder what it could be, probably all this stuff for the toy factory. What do you think, Bendy? Bendy?”

The devil’s eyes were wide as he stared at the tape, before turning to look at Henry. “I know dat voice! I… I remember him! Just barely… I remember dat Cohen guy, he was somewhere else in da studio, an’ he always looked like he was gonna drop dead any second.”

He shivered, his outline actually wiggled to show this. He couldn’t place the location, but he remembered an office, somewhere deep in the studio. Bendy remembered a man at a desk, constantly tapping away at a counting device, always writing something, muttering to himself in constant worry.

Bendy remembered terrified, golden eyes that looked at him in a hallway. The man looked like he was at his wit’s end, ink stained his hands and clothes. All he could say was ‘we don’t have the money for it, Mr. Drew’ as he walked off in a daze. Those words made the ink in Bendy’s stomach curdle, they sounded so desperate and horrified, as if Grant was going to be punished for it.

“Oh Joey, whatcha do to da guy…” Bendy hissed, before screaming in fright when he heard a loud bang from somewhere.

Henry looked out into the other room, seeing something trying to break its way through the wooden door that lead to the stairwell. Oh no, what was coming for them this time?!

“ **The disgusting wretches have wandered my halls, have gone unchecked!** ” The Other Alice screamed through the speakers. Searchers bubbled up from the floorboards, making their way towards Bendy and Henry.

“ **They're trying to drag me back to the darkness! _Don't let them take your angel!_ Purge them, one by one! Smash them into puddles! _Kill them!_** ”

The door was torn right from its hinges and slammed on the ground. Henry watched in shock as several clones of the ‘Butcher Gang’ shoved their way in. They were quick to spot him and Bendy, same with the Searchers, the group of monsters making their way over.

“We’re gonna have to fight ‘em off!” Henry shouted, striking a Searcher with his axe, splattering its ink against the floor.

Bendy backed up a bit, letting Henry get into the room more, before he bumped into something. It fell to the ground with a loud clatter. Turning around, Bendy was surprised to find a second axe! He grinned, happily picking it up. He could help fight off those creatures with Henry! This might work a lot better than his one-touch kill!

“Step aside, let me help!” Bendy announced, pushing past Henry to swing the axe right at a ‘Barley’s’ fishing pole, decapitating it more than it already was. Henry moved past him, onto the balcony, and kicked an ‘Edgar’ out of the way so he could hit a ‘Charley’ that tried to get him in the legs with his tool.

It took several minutes to kill them all, so many had approached them. But the battle went quicker than expected, thanks to the second axe Bendy had found, which he quickly stored into his hammerspace, just in case.

It was quiet as the last of the Searchers dissolved back into a puddle, before the taskmaster herself spoke up. “ _So quiet. **Like a welcoming grave**. I like the silence, don't you?_ ”

“Not really.” Bendy frowned, following Henry down the stairs, back to her doors. Once they stopped in front of them, after Henry had to deposit the axe, she spoke to them once more.

“ **I hate leaving work unfinished! Fortunately, I have you to pick up the pieces**.” Henry groaned, damnit! Another stupid task?! “But you'll have to go even deeper. **Down, down, down, into the abyss**. Take the lift down. **_Say hello to an old friend_**.”

The tube to the left rattled, spinning to reveal something. “Sending you a little present. **A little firepower**. _Take good care of it. It once belonged to someone very special_.”

She wasn’t wrong about it being a little firepower, it was a gun! A Tommy gun to be exact. Henry and Bendy looked at one another, both surprised by this. She really just gave them a gun? When they could have used it before?!

“This is a trap.” Henry whispered.

“No doubt about it, but still…” Carefully, Bendy approached, reaching up for the gun. But as he touched it, it suddenly popped and bubbled, before dissolving into a puddle of ink. Damnit, it was a trap!

"Oops. I forgot. **It's a little hard to get a hold of**. Oh well. _Better luck next time!_ ” The Other Alice chuckled before lifting the gate to let them go on her errand run.

“She didn’t give you a weapon, Henry.” Bendy grumbled, following him to the elevator.

“We have the pipe Boris is holdin’ and you have the spare axe. We’ll be okay, unless if you’ve got somethin’ else in your hammerspace?”

The imp dug behind himself, before shaking his head. “Nothin’ dat could really work as a weapon, guess we just gotta make due wit’ dis.” He pulled the axe out, handing it to Henry, who gladly took it.

As soon as they got onto the elevator with their wolf friend, the doors slammed shut behind them and the elevator began to go down, to Level 14. Boris looked worried, glancing around as the lift slowly made its way down, coming to a stop in a giant cavern of a room.

Stepping out, Henry stared in awe at the size of the room. Boris, Bendy, and Henry all stood on a tall, wooden structure that had stairs attached to it. The walls were covered in machinery and wooden planks while the floor was flooded with ink. The corpses of ‘Butcher Gang’ members were seen floating in the murky liquid, along with crates and barrels. From what Henry could see, there were two Bendy statues, a normal one, and one that was massive.

“Wow…” Bendy spun his head around slowly as he took everything in. “I _really_ don’t remember any of dis… what da heck was dis place suppose to be?”

“I dunno. What the hell are we even lookin’ for here?”

A small clap from behind them caught the duo’s attention. Boris was out of the elevator, nervously gesturing to something not too far from where they were, just down on the next platform. It was a clearly-dead ‘Edgar’ sprawled out against the corner of a banister on the platform, and it was holding something.

“Oh… oh god, is that…” Bendy shuddered, approaching the body, looking at the object. It was a heart, or at least, something akin to a heart. It was massive, black and yellow, and looked to be made of flesh rather than ink.

“Is that what she wants us to find?” Henry asked, looking at Boris who only nodded with a sad expression. He had the notepad Bendy had given him earlier, with something quickly written on it.

‘She needs the hearts of the monsters here’. Well, that’s… ominous.

“What does she even need the- no, never mind, I don’t want to know.” Henry shook his head, not liking any of this one bit, but he figured he couldn’t say no now, especially since they were already here.

He approached, asking Bendy to pull out the bag from before. When Bendy did, Henry took it, emptying out the contents. “We’ll use this for the hearts, I really don’t want to walk around with them in my arms.”

“Uhg, yeah.” Bendy made a face as he watched Henry take a drink from his canteen, before giving it to the toon to put into hammerspace, same with his clothes and supplies. Once that was all done, Henry picked up the heart, squirming at the unsettling feeling of holding a heart in his hand… he had only done it once before, when his older brother had tricked him during a Halloween event. He’s never been partial to eating organ meat after that.

“I can’t believe ya did that…!” Bendy exclaimed, looking just as bothered as Henry.

“Let’s just get this over with.” Henry stood up straight, putting the bag over his shoulder, before hearing a loud, metallic scream. Whipping his head around, he and Bendy stared in horror as something bright came out of a doorway near the giant Bendy statue. It was that projector creature, from Level 11!

“ _Shhh... there he is_.” The Other Alice whispered, her voice echoing in the room. “ ** _The Projectionist_**. Skulking in the darkness. **You be sure to stay out of his light, if you don't want trouble. Just bring me back the pieces I need**.”

Bendy looked over the railing of the deck, whimpering as he watched the creature, the Projectionist, trudged through the ink. He felt his own ink drip down the side of his face. “There’s so much down there… an’ a monster to boot…”

“You can stay up here with Boris, if you want.” Henry commented, heading for the stairs.

“What?! No, I’m comin’ wit’ you, Henry! I ain’t gonna let ya do dis mission alone, not wit’ dat monster down there!”

Henry wanted to tell him no, but the look on Bendy’s face meant that he was going, whether Henry wanted him to or not. With a frown, he offered his free hand to the demon, who walked with him to the stairs. They came to a stop at the bottom, where the ink gently splashed against the wooden staircase.

Shifting, Bendy gently stepped into the ink, much to Henry’s protest. The ink went right up to his stomach and he frowned. “Jeez Louise! It’s freezin’…!” He shivered, rubbing his arms.

“Why are you in the ink?” Henry asked, stepping into it as well, uhg, it was cold.

“I wanted to see if I’d be okay walkin’ around in it. I mean, I’ve been steppin’ in shallow puddles dis whole time. Plus, I’m sure me bein’ in da ink ain’t scarier than me turnin’ into dat monster form again.”

That didn’t really make Henry feel better, but they needed to find these hearts, so they might as well carry on. As much as he didn’t want to look around, Henry sensed that the other hearts had to be in the area the Projectionist was walking around in.

He tried to walk through the ink, doing his best not to make too much noise, but that was impossible. Was the Projectionist like the Ink Demon? Was it going to pick up on any little sounds? Then again… it didn’t seem to react at all when the Angel spoke up, her voice loud and clear in the room.

Plus, its head is literally a projector, they are for visuals, not audio. So maybe they’d be alright? As long as they kept out of the thing’s light, for once she gave advice that sounded very helpful. He held Bendy’s hand as they walked through the thick ink, before noticing another audio log, sitting on a box not too far from a set of broken headphones.

Trudging over to it, Bendy is the one who hit play.

_“Now I’m not lookin' for trouble. It’s just the nature of us projectionists to seek out the dark places. You see, I’ve learned the ins and outs of this here studio._

_I know how to avoid being bothered by the likes of this... company. That projectionist, they always say, creeping around, he’s just lookin’ for trouble. Well trouble or not, I sees everything. They don’t even know when I’m watchin’._

_Even when I’m right behind ‘em.”_

Henry stood there, staring at the audio log, his breath caught in his throat. The projectionist, creeping around, seeing everything… No, no, that thing, that ink monster… it couldn’t be Norman! There’s no way that could be him..!

But then again… Sammy became an ink monster, same with Jack, and it’s possible that the Angel is actually Susie. Then there’s the fact that there is a creature named the Projectionist, that looks like a real, scarier version of the little cartoon character Henry had designed and animated for Norman so many years ago.

“Oh no… Norman, no…” His grip tightened on his axe and Bendy’s hand as he bowed his head.

Bendy winced, feeling the tight grip on his own. “H-Henry, you’re hurtin’ me.”

Snapping out of it, Henry let go of Bendy’s hand, glaring down at the ink. “Bud, I’ve got a bad feelin’ about this Projectionist. I think it’s Norman.”

“What?! B-But..!” Bendy looked over at the entrance to the area that the Projectionist had walked into. “Do you really think…?”

“I feel like it is him, but I don’t know for sure. Right now, let’s just get those hearts and get the hell out of here. I don’t want to encounter it, who knows what it could do to either of us.”

The demon whimpered, nodding as he took Henry’s hand again, walking with him into the flooded area. He blinked, seeing footage of himself happily walking from the _Tombstone Picnic_ short on a wall, a projector sticking out of the ink. He also spotted another projector, playing a scene from _Nightmare Faire_ , showing a clip of him playing with flaming juggling sticks.

“They’re all playin’ shorts from da show.” Bendy commented as they walked, but he winced when he noticed a Little Miracle Station. Good thing they had spotted it, because the loud splashing of the Projectionist alerted them to its presence before its light flashed about the area. The two watched through the small view hole as the object head walked through the ink, seeming to be walking with no destination in mind. It made Henry wonder if the creature had any mind to it at all.

He wasn’t going to do anything to find out though.

They waited until the splashing was faint before getting out. Bendy moved through the ink when he spotted something yellow floating in the black liquid, happily picking up a heart, before he made a face. “Oh cheese on rye… I think it’s movin’…!”

“Please don’t say things like that…” Henry groaned, taking it from him. Uhg, this was the most disgusting thing he’s done in forever. He put the heart into the bag, hearing the fleshy sound of it rubbing against the other heart. “Hopefully we don’t have to gather too many of these things.”

And so they continued their search, it was rather difficult to do so. The lighting, even with the projectors, was poor. And many of the ‘Butcher Gang’ members were harvested already, so finding hearts wasn’t easy.

They found another one, after carefully avoiding the Projectionist when it passed by once more. They really didn’t want to know what would happen if that thing spotted them, but considering all the dead toons, that’s probably the end results. The two moved to what they assumed was the back of this bizarre, inky maze in their continued search for hearts.

“Okay, let’s hurry this up,” Henry pointed to the right, “you go that way, and I’ll be over here. There are bodies scattered about, just find as many hearts as you can, okay?”

Bendy looked worried, but wiped his hand over his face, his expression becoming serious as he nodded. “You got it!” He started to run through the ink, being careful not to slip and fall. Sometimes it was helpful to be a toon, seeing as he could move in the ink easier than Henry could. Or maybe it’s because he’s made of ink, that’s probably what was really helping.

He looked over the bodies of clones, finding no hearts. He pouted, dang it, this was harder than trying to find a needle in a haystack! He passed by a clip of himself being scared by a skeleton when he noticed a heart, gently bumping against a corner by the waves of the ink.

“A-ha!” He grinned, rushing over to pick it up. But just as he did, a bright light shown on him, making him think he was in a spotlight for a second.

Then he heard the metallic scream from before.

Bendy gasped, paused in horror as the Projectionist’s light shone brightly upon him, the monster itself across the hall from him. It screamed again from the speaker on its chest and Bendy snapped out of his fear, grabbing the heart as he ran, yelling Henry’s name as he was being chased.

Henry had just picked up a heart, putting it into the bag, when he heard the horrible sound from the monster that dwelled in this maze. He heard it again, before hearing the horrified screams of his toon. Gripping the axe, Henry took off in the maze, trying to find what direction Bendy had ran down. He felt stupid, he had wandered off himself, not staying close to where he had originally been looking around!

Now Bendy was in trouble, and who knew if he’d get there in time! “Hold on, Bendy! I’m comin’!” He shouted, trying to figure out where the sound of the screams were coming from.

He turned a sharp corner, almost slipping on the ink, before he found a terrifying sight.

In a corner was Bendy and the Projectionist. On the wall, illuminating them, was a scene from the very short that Henry had created the cartoon Projectionist for. It was a clip where said character had Bendy cornered. The scene was cute, nothing too scary, but the real scene in front of Henry, with the very real toons, was like a nightmare.

The Projectionist held Bendy up, its hand wrapped around the space where Bendy should have had a neck, but somehow it was as if he had one. Its empty hand was raised, flexing, as if getting itself ready to strike the poor demon’s chest. Bendy himself was struggling, squeaking in fear as tears ran down his cheeks. He was trying to claw at the tall monster’s arm, too panicked to change into his more demonic form. He let out a weak cry for help as he looked at Henry with pleading eyes, reaching a hand out towards him.

Something in Henry snapped.

He threw the axe and charged, screaming in rage as he slammed right into the Projectionist, making it let go of Bendy. Henry was thrown off of the Projectionist, who screamed through its broken speaker, charging towards the human. Henry dodged, his yellow eye burning a bright gold against the black the white had become. He felt a burning in his right hand as the mark leaked thick, chunky ink.

Deformed Bendy clones began to crawl out, climbing up his hand and arm. They clung to his skin and shirt, blending together to create some sort of inky shield of Henry’s arm, his hand coated in ink. It looked as if it were a thick, cartoony glove. With a loud scream, Henry pulled back his arm, slamming his inky fist right into the Projectionist’s lens.

It screamed as the glass cracked, the light bulb going out. There were pops from its projector head before a fast whirring sound was heard, as if the inner mechanics were going haywire. It let out an unholy sound as it ran around blind before it dropped to the ink.

The object headed creature stopped moving and its light was completely out. Henry panted hard, growling, before looking over at Bendy. The little toon was cowering in the corner, shaking like a leaf as he covered his face.

 _“Bendy…”_ Henry walked over, dropping to his knees, holding out his arms for his creation. Bendy sniffed, looking at him with wide, scared eyes. He looked at Henry’s eye, his arm, frightened by it. However, he wanted Henry, so he ignored the unsettling feeling in his gut at the changes to his creator and moved into his arms, clinging to him.

“Henry… I’m sorry.” Bendy whispered, clinging to him tightly before pulling back, looking at the human. He saw inky tears running down Henry’s face and he frowned. “What’s wrong?”

 _“I thought Nor- that monster… I thought he was gonna harvest your heart like he did the others…”_ Henry replied, looking at the toon before noticing his arm, his eyes widening.

 _“Wh-what is…? What the hell happened to my-!”_ His breathing increased as he looked at the lumpy ink that clung to his skin. Oh god, oh god..! What the hell was happening to him?! Was this what he was worrying about earlier, is this him becoming a creature of the ink? Like so many co-workers before him…?

This is worse than he thought, much worse…

“Henry!” Bendy clung to him once more, holding him tightly. “It’s okay! It’s okay! It… It protected us! It saved us! Just like what da ink did fer me earlier, when I saved you! You saved me, it’s helpin’ us, it is, it was made of da Bendy clones…”

Henry wheezed, holding him close, shutting his eyes tightly. _“Bendy… I don’t want to be part of the ink.”_

“I don’t want you to either…” The imp replied softly, rubbing his back. “We gotta get outta here, I don’t want you to become one of them.” He leaned back, looking at Henry’s face, seeing that his eye wasn’t glowing anymore. The black was turning into a gray, that had to be a good sign.

They sat there for a few minutes, letting Henry try to will the ink off of his arm. They watched as the deformed Bendy clones fell from his arm, dropping into the ink with small splashes. Once they were all off, Henry picked Bendy up, holding him in his arms as he reached down to pick up the heart that Bendy had dropped when he had been picked up by the Projectionist.

“ ** _Tell me, were they still writhing in your hands?_** ” The Angel’s voice echoed through the maze. “ **Bring them to me now! I don't like to wait.** ”

Henry glowered at the ceiling as he walked through the maze in silence, holding a tired and frazzled Bendy in his arms. When he returned to the top of the wooden structure in the larger room, he heard a squeaking, like a rusty wheel being turned. Looking over a banister, Henry noticed a black arm sticking out of the ink, its hand was on a valve.

He turned away, not even wanting to bother with it as he moved into the elevator, where Boris was waiting for them still. Just as Henry moved to push the button for Level 9, he heard a quiet voice in his arms.

“Level P… we gotta go there first…” Bendy mumbled, his eyes closed as he buried his face against Henry’s chest.

The human didn’t question, he just pushed the button for P and the elevator began to rise. When it came to a stop on Level 9, Henry walked out with Bendy in his arms still. He didn’t know why he needed to come here, but a faint feeling in his head told him to check out the stairwell for this level, that there was something important here for him.

He found that the flooded roof was cleared of its inks, that it revealed a staircase that let into a small room. On a table was a perfectly clean audio log, no name was on it, but Henry had a feeling he knew that he didn’t need to know the name. Silently, he pushed the play button

_"Only two weeks into this company, and already it’s gotten interestin’. Joey is a man of ideas, and only ideas._

_When I meant to start this whole thing with him, I thought there'd be a little more give and take. Instead I give, and he takes. I haven't even seen Linda for days now. Still, someone has to make this happen. When in doubt, just keep drawing, Henry._

_On the plus side, I got a new character I think people are going to love.”_

“I remember dat tape.” Bendy spoke up, his face still hidden against Henry’s chest. “I remember hearin’ it years ago, I thought I hid it away, to make sure Joey didn’t destroy it. But why is it here?”

“You had this tape?” Henry asked. “God, I made that so long ago… made it just before I brought my designs for you to Joey.” He stopped, thinking about that nightmare he had, where he saw Joey turning into an ink monster.

Did this tape have something to do with that? Or maybe it’s just a huge coincidence, but why is this tape here? Everything else in the room was covered in ink, this wasn’t, who put this here?

“ ** _I’m waiting, errand boys!_** ” The Other Alice loudly, and rudely, shouted through the speakers.

Henry huffed, moving to leave the room, heading back to the elevator. Once the doors closed, the elevator moved on its own to Level 9. When it arrived, Henry left Bendy with Boris, making his way to the trashcan.

Once he deposited them into the can, the Angel spoke up once more. “ _It seems like we've reached the end of my to-do list, my little errand boys._ I hope you've enjoyed our time together. **_I'll always treasure it._ Return to the lift _. It's time to go home._** ” She sounded so sweet, but Henry knew better.

However, he was so tired, so drained, he didn’t even argue with her as he moved back to the elevator, getting inside. Once the doors closed, the lift began to ascend upwards slowly, passing the floors above that Henry and Bendy had wandered for hours. Bendy quietly stood with him and Boris, leaning against Henry’s leg. They were gonna leave, he couldn’t wait to see the outside world, he hoped it would be as amazing as he had always thought it was.

“ _Have you ever wondered what Heaven is like?_ ” The Angel spoke quietly, sounding exactly like Alice Angel. “ _I like to dream that it's quite beautiful. A soft valley of green grass, blanketed by a warm sun. I don't think I'll ever get to see it... Are you ready to ascend, my little errand boys? The heavens are waiting._ ”

There was a quiet pause before she began to cry. Bendy frowned, she sounded so heartbroken, maybe she isn’t as bad as he thought she was. Maybe she’s just affected by the ink like so many others here…

“ ** _Heh…hehehehehahahahAHAHAHAHAHA!_** ”

Or maybe not!

Suddenly the elevator dropped, moving way too fast. The metal sides scrapping hard against the walls of the lift, sending up sparks. Boris covered his eyes while Bendy clung tightly to Henry as they fell.

“ **Did you really think I'd let you steal from _me_?!** ” She screamed over the screeching of the metal. “ **Did you really think I'd just _let you go_?! _No,_ _Henry!_ I _know_ who you are! And I _know_ why you're here! And you will not stop what needs to be done!** ”

Henry was shocked, this fake Alice knew who he was?! Hell, she knew his name!?

“ **Now come down and bring me back my Boris! It's the most perfect Boris I've ever seen, and I want it! I need it. _I need its insides so that I can be beautiful again!_ Don't you understand? Don't you get it?! Give him to me!! Or better yet, I'll take him! Once... you're... _dead!!_** "

The elevator slammed into the ground and Henry struck his head on the ceiling of it, blacking out instantly.

\--

Boris woke up with a grunt, shaking dust off his head. He looked around, seeing the damage done to the elevator, there was no way it would ever work again. Thomas was right about his warnings, it was dangerous…

Looking down, he saw Bendy and Henry, unconscious. Blood and ink were slowly pooling out of Henry’s nose and mouth, same with Bendy but only from his mouth. Both were covered in dust and debris, and their breathing was wheezy and haggard. Boris winced, seeing the gash on the back of Henry’s head, it was slowly healing, yes, but it still looked rather nasty.

He turned the human onto his back, gently shaking him, trying to get him to wake up. They were in Level S, her domain, her territory. There was so much more to the horrors in the studio down here than up in the pervious levels, they had to get going! Boris was sure he remembered an exit around here somewhere, but he wasn’t just going to leave Henry and Bendy behind!

He heard a groan, relieved to see Henry open his eyes. He looked so out of it, trying to wake up. Boris kept shaking him, hoping it would help… but he stopped when he heard a sound, a very familiar hum. The clicking of heels became louder with every step as he turned his head, seeing someone approaching in the flickering lights.

Gulping, Boris turned, looking back at Henry. He didn’t see the old man with graying hair and mix-matched eyes in front of him. No, he saw the friendly animator, with chestnut hair and bright, green eyes, laughing as he told him where he last saw the keys to the supply closet. A hand grabbed onto him and he could feel how tight the grip was. One last thought was on his mind before he was pulled away from his old friend, into the darkness of Level S.

‘Sorry, Henry, looks like I’m finally outta here…’

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE CHAPTER THREE SAGA IS OVER. And BOY was it a task and a half! Twenty pages with the author’s notes!
> 
> But the fun thing is I finally got to do some stuff I’ve had planned from the very beginning of this au. Bendy changing into the Ink Demon through his emotions was something I wanted to do, but I was originally going to change his design to be different for the Ink Demon’s. 
> 
> However, with Chapter Four’s updates, that wasn’t a problem, I just used the old design from the original Chapter Two update (He got a slight update in the Chapter Three update). With some minor changes, of course, he has to have the eye. There is another form for Bendy, though, but it might never happen. It would be one where he’s solid black with only a glowing eye, and he’s completely mindless, following only the desire of his rage.
> 
> Henry’s rage change, I’ve wanted to do this since the very beginning, but I had to build up to it. His Bendy clones allow for it, acting as a barrier on his skin, but what we see in this chapter is just a taste, a preview. I have a big scene where you’ll see more of it when I work on the Chapter Four saga. I’m sure you can guess what scene it is, but I’m proud of it, it’s already written and ready to go!
> 
> Speaking of, there will be a delay as I do the updates, so you’ll have to wait, sorry. But anyway, since I’m a huge fan of ink corruption, you can pretty much figure that this is what is going on with Bendy and Henry. The longer in the studio they stay, the worst it could get (yellow eyes are a curse, even on toons it seems).
> 
> Also, I’m a huge fan of ink!Henry, like, pretty much all of the ones I’ve seen from a bunch of aus, like HATIM and 2DBendy. I couldn’t resist doing my own, and with a companion good!Ink Demon on his side.
> 
> Next chapter: Henry and Bendy find themselves in the dangerous and mysterious Level S and beyond, having no idea what is here, and no weapons to fight off the monsters they could encounter. But they will do whatever they can to save their dear friend.
> 
> It’s time to end the Angel, no matter what it takes.
> 
> I’d love to give a big shout out to all of you wonderful readers. I have gotten some lovely fanart and comments since starting this story and it makes me so happy to know that people are enjoying it! This is, honestly, my favorite fanfic I’ve done, and I want to do my best to keep it great for you guys. So expect more chapters and art for it in the coming months! Chapter Five is only a few months away, can’t wait for when I get to write stuff for those!
> 
> Thanks for reading, please comment and kudos!


	10. Journey Deeper, Fear the Reaper. The Angel, She Must be Uncrowned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boris has been kidnapped and our heroes only have a short amount of time to get to him before the Angel adds him to her beauty treatment. What horrors will they find in Level S, can’t be worse than the Other Alice’s tasks.
> 
> Right?
> 
> … Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> Sorry for the wait, had to fix up chapter one to fit the updates done to, well, Chapter One, and I'm slowing making my way with fixing my grammar errors.
> 
> I’d like to give a big shout out to all of you, my readers! We’re finally here, chapter ten, usually I give up on my stories before I get to this point… but it’s thanks to all of you that I’m still going. I’ve got a story I want to tell, and with all of you lovely people reading, commenting, leaving kudos, and some of you even drawing wonderful fanart, it keeps the fires burning for this!
> 
> I never thought I’d do something in the Bendy fandom that would get me this much love, even Pulling Strings doesn’t get the attention that Ink Spots gets, so this means a lot to me.
> 
> So, thank you, I dedicate chapter ten to all of you amazing readers and fans! This one’s for you~!
> 
> Also, another, HUGE thank you to brandyjin for helping me with the art for this one! She did the coloring for my line work, and it came out amazing! Thank you so much for the collaboration!
> 
> On with the fic!

**_…Alright Joey, I’m here… let’s see if we can find what you wanted me to see…_ **

What is that? Was that his own voice? He didn’t think he said anything just now.

**Well, well, well… didn’t expect to see you here so soon. Twice in one day? How pathetic.**

Henry groaned, hearing a voice, right by his ear. There was also a nasty ringing that he heard, and what sounded like a thousand other voices, swirling around him all at once… Oh no, he knew where this was, he recognized that cocky voice anywhere.

He was back in the Puddles, in the ink itself. Damnit, he was dead again, wasn’t he?

How many times can one man die anyway?

Covering his left eye, Henry sat up, looking around with his right. Unlike last time, when he was thrown into the fountain, he couldn’t see what Bendy saw. All he saw was the swirling ink and the faint light at the end of the tunnel. So, not seeing Bendy vision this time around, that is either a good thing or a bad thing. _Alright, what happened, why am I back here?_

**You don’t remember?**

_Clearly I don’t, that’s why I’m asking._

**Tsk. You must have hit your head harder than I thought. Well, of course you did, you’re back here, right? Then again, you also took a nasty hit to your chest, but you hitting your head was a doozy as well. Ah, you humans are so strange, sometimes you’re tougher than steel, other times you break like dropped china. It’s rather funny, heh.**

_Hit my..?_ Wait, it was coming back to him. The elevator, the Other Alice shouting at him about who he was and Boris belonging to her. _Where’s Bendy?! Boris!?_

Henry remembered seeing a terrified Boris for a moment before he had blacked out and found himself here. Boris, oh jeez, what happened to him? And Bendy, was he alive? Was he okay?

The voice seemed to cluck its tongue at him. **Calm yourself, Henry. The little demon is… fine. A bit banged up, but he’ll heal. However, Boris has been taken by the Angel.**

 _She has him?_ Henry asked as he started to walk, he needed to get out of the Puddles. _She’s gonna kill him!_

**You act as if I don’t know that. I know much of what is going on here, and if I could, I would stop her myself. But I can’t get to her, she is somewhere beyond my reach. The ink, it is everywhere, but not truly everywhere. She has places where I cannot get to her and she knows this. Clever witch.**

_Who are you anyway? How much of this place do you know? Can you tell me anything?_

Henry got a snort in reply. **Where’s the fun in that? I don’t want to reveal all the details to you, and if I tell you who I am… well… you wouldn’t like the answer. The least I can tell you is that you need to find the false angel. She is here, in Level S and beyond, it is her domain. You think those upper levels are hers, not true. She just has certain spots she controls, but really…**

The former animator felt a shiver run down his spine as something pressed against him. It felt like ice, there was heavy breathing near his ear, it was so cold... **She is the queen of the lower levels, of what lies beyond the Storage 9 door… the angel, she must be uncrowned.**

He screamed when he was shoved, and Henry sat straight up, only to fall backwards from the sudden dizzy spell. “Oh wow… what hit me…?” He groaned, rolling onto his side, hissing at the sharp pain in his ribs.

All around him was the damaged metal of the elevator. It had crashed into the floor and it was clear that there was no way it would be working any time soon. Coughing hard, Henry carefully got himself onto his hands and knees.

“Bendy?” He glanced around, spotting the unconscious toon laying on his back, some rubble from the elevator was on him. There was a small trail of dried ink and blood that had pooled out of the corner of his mouth. For a moment, Henry feared the worse, but he relaxed when he noticed that Bendy was breathing, and it was even.

He crawled over and sat down next to his toon, starting to remove the debris. Once it was cleared away, he carefully lifted the demon up onto his lap, resting his head against his chest. “Come on, buddy, we gotta get up… we gotta get goin’.”

His ribs were killing him, how long had he been out? His watch was now broken beyond repair, so there was no telling the time. Henry winced when he moved wrong, probably had cracked ribs now. Hopefully his healing abilities were kicking into overdrive. If he had died and ended up in the ink again, then the pain must have been ten times worse than it was now, but it still hurt like all hell. If he lifted up his shirt now, he’d probably find it all bruised up.

Henry touched his head, hissing at the sharp pain on the back of it. Well, there’s another injury there, great! Right where Sammy had knocked him out, how did he not have a concussion? Hell, how did he not have any broken limbs and other worse injuries? That fall was worse than the ones he took before they met Boris.

Demonic ink was the ultimate painkiller it seems.

Bendy groaned loudly, opening his eyes slowly. “Henry…” He wheezed out before coughing hard. He felt a hand rubbing his back as he coughed up bits of ink.

Once his fit was over, he looked up at his creator. “Henry? W-what happened..?”

“Alice tried to kill us to get Boris.” Henry replied quietly. “She got him, but we lived. We need to find him, she might think we’re dead, she didn’t bother with us.”

“I don’t feel well… everythin’ hurts like I was smashed wit’ a mallet or somethin’. Gag gone bad…” He wrapped his arms around Henry’s neck, hugging onto him loosely.

Henry sighed softly, trying to get to his feet. “I’ll carry you for a bit, looks like you took a pretty nasty hit from the elevator. What do you remember?”

Bendy groaned, rubbing at his face. “Uhh… gosh, hm, I remember her laughin’ a whole lot an’ she called ya by yer name, then she tried to kill us. You hit your head on da lift when we crashed, looks like it hurt a lot.”

They both looked up, seeing a bit of blood on the metal above them. “We hit da ground an’ chunks of stuff fell on me. Then I was out until ya woke me up! Henry, where did we end up? I don’t remember any of dis.”

Looking around from where he was, Bendy saw that they were in a room, but he really had no idea where this was. Nothing look familiar, all he knew was that this was Level S because of a sign.

Henry shrugged. “I dunno either, but I ended up back in the Puddles again. I think I was temporarily dead from the crash, but the voice in the ink told me what happened. He said that Alice had Boris and that we needed to ‘uncrown’ her, said she was queen of this place. Guess that means we need to kill her, another being here wants her gone.”

“She’s a monster.” The demon grumbled. “She stole Boris, tried to kill us… after she said she’d send us out of here!” He groaned and rubbed at his head, he was having a terrible headache.

“Settle down, we need to focus on the task at hand. We’ll deal with her after we make sure Boris is safe, okay?” Henry looked around, he couldn’t find anything that could make for a good weapon. Hm, wonder where the GENT pipe went, knowing his luck, it’s probably lost in a black void somewhere. He’ll find something later, he needed to find Boris.

They exited the elevator room, walking down a hall. Both were on high alert, who knew what was here. If anything jumped out at them, they would be up shit creek without a paddle since Henry was still healing and weaponless, while Bendy was probably too weak to really put up a fight right now.

And neither of them wanted to use the ink for help, that could be saved for emergencies. Big emergencies, Henry really didn’t want deal with their ink powers. They came to a split at the end of the hall, finding a sign on the wall between the halls.

“Huh, ‘Level S, Accounting and Finance’, eh?” Henry spoke up as he looked at the sign, glancing to the right. “That way leads to Grant Cohen’s office, and to the left is the archives and… R and D access? Do you have any clues?”

What could that mean? The best Henry could come up with was Research and Design, but shouldn’t that be upstairs in the art department? Why have something like that so far down in the studio?

Bendy shook his head. “Nope, I don’t know what any of dat means, but maybe Grant left somethin’ in his office dat could help us out!”

“Probably, but let me check the archives first, they usually have a lot of information for a buildin’.” Henry turned to the left, making his way down the hall, only to find that the large, vault-like door couldn’t be opened without a valve. “Well, that’s a problem.”

“Hopefully Jack didn’t take dat one as well.” The demon snickered a little as he and Henry went to opposite way to get to Grant’s office. They found that this hall ended with two doors and a Bendy cutout that just stood there, smiling at them.

The door to the left didn’t budge, but the one on the right held an unsettling surprise for the duo. Inside was an office, and it was clearly trashed. The walls were coated in repeated messages of things like numbers, ‘time is money’, ‘taxes’, ‘doesn’t add up’, and other troubling messages about money. Henry shuddered, standing in the door way as he felt Bendy’s grip on him tighten.

“Henry…” The imp whispered. “I hear voices…”

Henry did as well, he could faintly hear chattering, so soft that one could practically miss it if it wasn’t so silent in this room. It sounded like the voices in the ink, and Henry didn’t like that. He swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped into the room, seeing a desk with a bubbling puddle of ink on it, next to a tape recorder. The two looked at one another, both not wanting to know what was on it, but the fact that it has Grant’s name on it made them curious.

They wished they hadn’t pressed play, seeing as the audio that came from the player was like something from a horror movie, or a nightmare. It was nothing but the terrified shouts of a man as he thrashed about in horrible pain. As the man screamed, it seemed to change to sound, well, like he was shoved underwater.

Is this what it sounded like when someone turned into an ink creature?

“Sweet greens an’ beans…” Bendy whispered, his eyes wide. “Did… was dat Grant? Did he d-die?”

“Worse, I think he became somethin’ here.”

Bendy let out what sounded like a dying squeaky toy as he shook his head. “No, nononono! What did Joey do to everyone here?! What did he do to dis place, my home?!”

“I don’t know, but when we find him, I’m gonna make him tell me everythin’.” Henry huffed, spotting the missing valve over by a pipe in the wall. The voices were much louder by the pipes and Henry was quick to grab the valve, bolting from the room to get to the archives. Once he put the valve back in its place, he and Bendy turned it, opening the door.

The inside of the archives was almost completely dark, just barely illuminated by the light of the hallway. Henry could only make out that there was something massive in the middle of the room and that there were things in front of it.

What was inside was soon revealed the moment he stepped through the doorway.

Stage lights turned on automatically as a record player began, playing what sounded like a music box song. The large object that Henry couldn’t make out was shown to be a giant Bendy statue, under a banner that read **HE WILL SET US FREE** , hanging from the ceiling with a Bendy face painted on it. And around the statue were inky figures.

They were clearly human in shape, all posed in various ways, as if worshipping or fearing the statue.

“What… what the heck is this?” The former animator was in shock, he’s seen a lot of strange things in this place, but there was something even more bizarre about what laid before him.

“Are those ink statues?” Bendy asked, getting out of Henry’s arms to get a better look. He approached the platform the statues stood upon, looking at them. The inky figures were clearly made of fresh ink, which was strange, how were they keeping their shape. “Is dis Sammy’s work?”

“Judgin’ by the banner, probably. From the way he spoke with us when we were tied up, I think he was either part of, or the head of, a cult that worshipped you. Or possibly the other you, but still, you by proxy.”

Bendy made a face. “As much as I love bein’ in da spotlight, I’d rather not have a bunch of people worshippin’ me. It’s creepy. I ain’t anyone’s lord or messiah, I’m just a dancin’ demon.”

“Yeah, let’s keep goin’, hopefully we’ll find more answers in the next room.” Henry replied as he moved around the stage to the next room.

Inside this one was a circular wall within the round room, housing dozens upon dozens of books. Henry found some miscellaneous items on shelves on the inner walls, illuminated by a chandelier. Another Bendy cutout was in the room, but it didn’t seem to be a bother to either of them, just smiling as it leaned against a shelf. Bendy approached the table that sat in the center of the room, finding another audio log as Henry walked around the outside walls.

“I found a door, but it won’t open, gonna find a way in. Must be a key somewhere.” Henry called out.

“Okay, I found a tape! I’m gonna play it.” Bendy shouted back before he pushed the play button.

The voice of Susie echoed in the archives, and it left a heavy feeling in Bendy’s chest as he listened.

_“They told me I was perfect for the role. Absolutely perfect._

_Now Joey's going around saying things behind closed doors. I can always tell. Now he wants to meet again tomorrow, says he has an "opportunity" for me._

_I'll hear him out. But if that smooth talker thinks he can double cross an angel and get away with it… heh, well, oh he's got another thing coming._

_Alice, ooh she doesn't like liars.”_

“She sounds a lot like da Other Alice, Henry.” Bendy frowned as he looked at the tape player before looking at his cutout. The eyes stared at him, blank, but Bendy almost felt like there was a feeling of anger coming from it. He decided to ignore it and go find Henry.

“Yeah, I suspect that they might have somethin’ to do with one another.” Henry replied as he looked at the door in front of him. Now how the hell could he get this opened? “Got any ideas on this, bud? It’s locked up.”

Bendy looked at the door, giving it a small kick before he stepped back. He scratched his head in thought before leaning on a bookshelf, feeling a book push in, just as a light turned on above the door.

“Oh, so that’s how that works.” Henry blinked, noting that they had four more lightbulbs to activate. Looks like they were just gonna have to push in books with pictures of Bendy on them to get the door opened. Leave it to Joey to make a damn puzzle out of everything in this place. Bendy found the second book on another shelf, pushing it in to activate the second light.

“I’ve got this one.” Henry spoke as he put his hand on the third one, but the moment he pushed it in, something went terribly wrong.

A burning shot of pain ran through his head as his vision distorted into something unsettling, unnatural. The chandelier in the center of the room was spinning wildly as voices screamed and whispered at him, nothing that he could understand. He couldn’t even hear Bendy’s shouts over the noises. Actually, speaking of Bendy, Henry could see the cutout of his little friend from across the room, only it looked solid now.

It looked just like Bendy, if both his eyes were the off-model design the left one was currently. Ink was dripping from this Bendy’s face, from his eyes, as he forced a wide grin. In his hands was a sign that Henry only had just a moment to read before the strange hallucinations stopped.

He found himself on his knees, with Bendy staring at him with worry clear as day on his face, his hands twitching in front of him, as if he didn’t know what to do.

“B-Bendy?” He gasped, his head was spinning and his heart was beating hard as he looked at his friend.

“Henry! Oh, cheese an’ crackers, you were freakin’ out big time! You just stood there wit’ dis really scared look on yer face an’ then ya just… dropped! Oh, dis ain’t good, yer nose is bleed- Henry! Yer eye!”

Henry blinked. “My eye?” He reached up to touch under it, was it leaking again? Or was there something worse about it?

“It’s black again, oooooh…! Do ya feel weird, is yer mark hurtin’ ya?!”

“My mark..?” Henry looked at his hand, it looked perfectly fine. The mark wasn’t acting up, he didn’t feel anger either. He just felt… cold and scared, a little freaked out. “I don’t feel any different, my eye and mark don’t hurt at all. But I saw somethin’ weird, kid. The room was spinnin’ and that cutout was solid.”

Bendy looked over at the cutout, that just leaned against the wall, still where they left it.

“It looked just like you, but it was… its eyes were crazy, and it was leakin’ ink. It was also holdin’ a sign.”

“What did da sign say..?”

“I think it was ‘wanderin’ is a terrible sin’, do you know what that means?”

Bendy shook his head, helping Henry back to his feet. “We’re gonna have to be more careful, who knows what dat was dat just happened to ya! I don’t wanna lose ya to da ink, Henry. Da longer we’re here, the more we change. An’ don’t tell me ya ain’t changin’! I saw what happened in Level 14! You saw what happened to me in da toy factory!”

He rubbed at his face in frustration. “There’s so much wrong here… I can’t recall everythin’ dat happened in da studio, but I remember a lot of employees with gold eyes, swimmin’ in black. It meant dat da worse was gonna happen to ‘em, and now your eye is like theirs…”

“But it’s just the one eye.” Henry gestured to it. “You have mentioned that their _eyes_ change, but I just have this one. Nothing has happened with the other one. I think we’re safe, for now. Besides, we’re gonna get out of here before the worst happens, I promise.”

Bendy wrung his hands together before nodding. “I trust ya on dat, ol’ man… come on, let’s get those other books.” He moved, glancing out towards the first room of the archives, before letting out a scream.

“What?! What happened?” Henry rushed over, seeing why Bendy screamed like that. And now he realized why he ha

The inky statues were gone! Not a trace of them was anywhere! But no one was here with Bendy and Henry, they should have heard if someone came in, right? This place echoed with every step someone took, they should have… unless if they moved like the Other Bendy did, through the ink.

“Should we… investigate dat or should we just get da door opened an’ get da heck outta here?” Bendy stage whispered.

“Get the heck outta here sounds like the best damn plan I’ve heard all day.” Henry and Bendy quickly moved to push in the last two books. Once this task was completed, they were able to enter the next area.

And what an area it was! It looked like the inside of a mine, with cages… hanging from the ceiling, and a strange contraption that hung over a large crevasse. There also happened to be some cutouts that were stuck in the rock wall.

“What is all this?” Henry asked, very confused. “What does any of this have to do with making cartoons?! Joey, what the hell were you doin’ for thirty years?!”

“At dis point, I don’t think we should even ask anymore.” Bendy pinched where the bridge of his nose should be. “Anyway, looks like we gotta figure out how to get to da other side.”

Henry nodded, making his way over to a contraption that appeared to work the cart that hung over the giant hole in the room. “I think it’s broken.” He commented after trying the lever. “Looks like we’re gonna have to find a gear, it’s missin’ one.”

Bendy nodded, looking around for one. He didn’t find a gear, but he found a strange machine. It had a crank on one side, a wheel with a picture of a coffee cup on the other, and a small basket in the front. Bendy turned the wheel, seeing a cup, a gear, some odd shape, and then a bone. “Maybe dis thing can help!”

Henry walked over, turning the crank, but nothing happened. “It needs somethin’. Looks like we gotta put somethin’ into the bucket and then what we make come out from that part at the bottom. But what do we put in?”

“Considerin’ dis place… probably ink.” Bendy gestured to a stream of ink that came from a pipe in the wall. “But dat’s too far for either of us to reach, we’re gonna have to find a different source. An’ it ain’t gonna be you or me!”

“So, I can’t just put a Bendy in there?”

“I’d rather not see a li’l me get used to make somethin’ like dat!” The toon exclaimed, flailing his arms about with an extra touch of smear animation. There was something absolutely fascinating about watching Bendy do cartoon things in the real world.

“Well, why not? I mean, they’ve helped us with little things already. Plus, you saw them get used to become a shield on my body and become a weapon, so why not be used to make us a gear to get across?”

Bendy huffed, his face gray from an annoyed blush. “B-Because! It just seems kinda cruel, ya know, to use a cartoon fer yer own benefits without even botherin’ to think about how they feel.”

Henry paused, wow, that sounded… like that hurt to say, like it hit a cord for the little imp. People here must have pushed Bendy around or something and used him for things with no benefit for Bendy. Jeez, didn’t Henry know that all too well in his years working here…

“Alright, we’ll find a different source of ink for the machine. Maybe down that hall? Hopefully we won’t have to deal with anything down there, since you’re, technically, the only weapon wielder right now with your touch.” Henry suggested, gesturing to a hallway that was off to the side to them.

Bendy gave a nod, peeking into the hall. He didn’t like the fact that Henry didn’t have a weapon, and he really, _really_ didn’t want him resorting to using the ink in his body. But if he needed to be the one to defend his creator, then by golly, he was gonna do just that! Just as long as he wasn’t jumped and beaten to an inky pulp in the process.

“Looks like it’s safe to check out.” He gestured for Henry to follow him down the hall, stopping in a small room. There was a strange, giant pipe in the middle of the tiny room, along with a few, smaller ones. There was also a switch on the wall next to the doorway, which means that they probably have to flip it.

“I smell ink in here, maybe dis is where we can get some?” Bendy asked, looking at the pipe, before looking at the switch. Reaching up, he pulled it down and the large pipe split, one half lifting up towards the ceiling. In the bottom half was a bubbling pool of hot ink.

Henry made a face; the smell and fumes were bothering him quickly. “How do we get that ink out? We don’t have a container, and it looks hot.”

Bendy tapped his finger to his chin, looking lost in thought, before he noticed the valve on one of the other pipes. Something about that gave him an idea and he approached it, turning the valve. The ink started to bubble more before something rose from it, moaning loudly. Bendy yelped, jumping back, fist at the ready before he realized it was a Swollen Searcher.

Henry and Bendy quietly watched it as it seemed to blindly look around before spotting them. It actually looked scared to see them before it reached up, pulling two chunks of ink off of its back, holding it out at them.

“It… do you want us to take that?” Henry asked, seeing it nod as it moaned. He reached out, taking the clump, finding that it was actually cold to the touch. “Thank you.”

When Bendy took his clump, it slipped back into the hot ink, and it was gone. “Dat… was really weird… but we got da ink!” Bendy grinned, holding it up.

“Yeah, but I wonder why it was scared of us. It didn’t even run away like the others, was it cause we didn’t have the syringe?”

“I dunno, but we should get goin’, we got a friend to save! Hold on, Boris, Bendy’s comin’!” Bendy shouted as he ran out of the room, back to the little GENT machine. Henry sighed, smiling despite himself as he followed after his creation.

Once back in the cavern, Henry deposited the ink into the machine after turning the image to the gear. “Let’s see if this works.” He said before cracking the machine. The bin holding the ink flipped, taking in the lumpy fluid, before the machine shook. It spat out something, a bubble of ink, that took on the shape of a metal gear.

Henry reached down, picking it up. It was heavy and felt like real metal. “Well, that was… a thing.” He moved over to the trolley machine, setting the gear in. Well, that should do it. Henry turned to call Bendy over but saw that he had just finished making something with the GENT machine. It spat out another bubble that turned into a radio.

“What?” Bendy shrugged. “I wanted to try it out too!”

He grinned at he picked up the radio, turning it on. A strange song started to play, it didn’t quite sound like the two that Bendy had played with earlier, nor like the one Henry had stumbled upon when he had been looking for the totems earlier. The song played for a few moments, only for the radio to dissolve before the song could even end.

“Guess da stuff made by da machines don’t last long.” The imp commented, moving away from the puddle.  
  
“Which means we need to get goin’, now.” Henry replied as he picked up Bendy, putting him into the cart for the trolley, then getting in himself after he pulled the switch.

The ride was alright, though it was unsettling to glance down and see nothing but darkness down below them.

“How far down do ya think dis drop is?” Bendy asked as he picked up little screw that was sitting in the basket with them. He dropped it over the side and it was quickly lost to the blackness. The toon made a cartoony gulp sound as he looked over the edge, sweating ink a little.

“I’m… pretty sure if I fell from up here, I wouldn’t splatter an’ then reform from dat drop…” Bendy mumbled before screaming when the trolley suddenly jerked and swayed, as if the cord it was trailing on was about to snap.

Henry pulled Bendy close to him, eyes wide as he looked around frantically to see what was happening. But as soon as the shaking started, it ended, and the cart moved on its own with no problem. Henry and Bendy glanced about before looking at one another, both having a sheepish, nervous grin on their faces as they got to the end of the line.

“So… we’re okay?” Bendy asked as he was helped out.

“Yeah, uh, wonder what that was all about…” Henry looked over at the machine for the cart, seeing the gear finally turn back into ink. “No turnin’ back now.” Hopefully that was the last big scare for a while, Henry wasn’t sure how much more he could take right now.

Too bad that wasn’t the case, because as soon as he opened the door to the next area, his vision distorted again. He cried out as black, inky arms reached out towards him, trying to claw at him. Henry could hear voices begging for him to help, to release them from the Hell they were subjected to, and even…

_‘Set us free, Creator…’_

He dropped to the ground, his body shaking violently as he grabbed at his head, eyes wide. No, no! Not again, what’s going on!? Why are these visions happening to him!?

“Henry!” Bendy cried out, turning him onto his back, shaking him as his vision returned to normal. The voices were gone, as were the hands, it was just him and Bendy in the mineshaft hallway. “Henry, buddy! Are ya okay?!”

Henry blinked a few times, trying to adjust to, well, everything around him. “It happened again… I saw dozens of black, ink-soaked hands… I taste blood.”

“Your nose is bleedin’ again, oh eggs an’ bacon, we gotta getcha outta here as soon as possible!” Bendy started to wipe at the blood with his thumb, watching as it seemed to absorb into him. Not a problem to worry about now, Henry was much more important. “Henry, I don’t like this… I’m scared ya might not get out while still healthy…”

“I’ll be alright, it’s just… maybe the fumes in this place are gettin’ to me. There’s so much ink, I use to get a bit dizzy when I was working around cells with heavy amounts of inks on them.” The former animator tried to smile as he sat up.

Bendy didn’t look convinced at all as he stepped back. “Henry, I know ya don’t want me doin’ dis, but let me turn into dat big Bendy, so I can carry you.”

Henry shook his head as he tried to get to his feet. “Bendy, I’ll be okay, if you wanna change form, let’s leave it for when things get a li’l rougher, this was just… a scare, yeah?”

“If you have another one of those weird spells of yers, I’m changin’! I ain’t gonna let ya fall behind, we got a wolf to save an’ a studio to escape!”

“Yeah, we do.” Henry let Bendy take his hand as they left the hallway, finding another large cavern, this time with stairs and planks lining the walls, going up in a large circle. It was much brighter in here as well, and the two saw a glimpse of the Ink Machine as it seemed to be lowered into the darkness by the chains that came from the hole in the ceiling.

“ ** _I see you there my little errand boys._** ”

The sickly sweet, yet deadly voice of the Other Alice echoed from the speakers in the spiral stairway as Bendy and Henry began their ascent.

“Alice!” Bendy shouted, his eyes hard as he tried to look for any sign of her. “Come out here an’ show yer face, ya witch!”

She chose to ignore the weak insult as she continued to speak, taunting them with her words and tone. “ ** _Your Angel is_ always _watching. What is it that keeps you going? Is it the thrill of the hunt? The thirst for your freedom?_** ”

The next words from her had Henry’s blood boiling as he heard her mocking tone, as if she took great enjoyment in their worry. “ ** _Or perhaps... you're just looking for a little, friendly, wolf... Better hurry, errand boys. Boris is having trouble staying in one piece._** ”

Henry felt ink dripping from his eye as he chose to hold back his anger, that’s what she wants, to get him worked up like she had done with Bendy before. She found great amusement in toying with them, and he refused to give her that joy. He’ll gladly express his anger to her when he’s striking her in that rotten face of hers with his inky fist.

Bendy gripped Henry’s hand tightly, trying to reassure him that they’d get Boris, that she’s just saying that to bother them. She couldn’t have turned him into another dead body for display so soon… right? They hadn’t been out for that long, so she wouldn’t have found the time?

He sure hoped so…

They continued their walk up the stairs, hearing nothing else from the Angel, which was for the best. They really didn’t need her constant talking right now. As they got to the top, they found another door and entered into a new room.

It appeared to be a lounge of some sort, the soft music of a record was playing from one of the seats in the room. Henry didn’t like that there was a Little Miracle Station in the room, sure he had yet to use one since before the fall, but it was rather suspicious that there was one here. And that he had seen a few Bendy statues since waking up.

However, still no sign of the Ink Demon. Did he go down this far? Was he more occupied with the upper levels? Or was he just keeping to the ink and shadows, waiting for the moment to strike?

Henry was taken from his thoughts when he heard a voice in the room, from above. His jaw dropped at the person who walked into view. It was one of the ink statues from before, except very much alive. They didn’t seem to notice Henry or Bendy at all as they stumbled around, fear clear as day in their voice.

 _“H-He's going to find me! He always finds me! Oh no!”_ The ink figure sobbed. _“I just want to go home! When do we go home? WHEN DO WE GO HOME?”_

A sense of guilt tore through Henry as he watched the poor thing walk off, their cries echoing in the room, drowned out by the soft music. What the hell happened? Who was that? Why did… was this Joey’s fault? Was this because Henry had left control to his former friend..?

Bendy let out a scared squeak as he looked up at Henry, seeing more ink drip from his friend’s eye. “Henry… Henry, buddy, dat was one of them statues…”

“Yeah…” Henry bit his lip, deciding to just move on, he didn’t know what to make of that. He would rather just keep going, not think about what Joey had been doing. And yet, opening the second door in the room only left him with more questions and guilt.

This new room was full of these ink figures, standing and sitting around, stunned to see Henry and Bendy. Their eyes were large and glowing, yet showing expressions of surprise, fear, worry, and some even seemed curious.

Henry could only stand there, taking it all in, taking them all in. All these people, once human, clearly whispering to themselves as they watched him with glowing eyes. Even in his frozen state, Henry could hear their soft voices, their words of him and Bendy.

_‘The Devil Darling and the Creator are here…’_

_‘The Prophet was right of their return.’_

_‘They are alive, they are here for us.’_

_‘Can we finally go home? I want to see my family…’_

_‘Will they set us free? Can the Creator save us?’_

_‘Please… please, let this be the end, I’m so tired…’_

_‘I just want to go home!’_

_‘Their eyes, they only have one gold eye each, they are not like us. They are stable.’_

_‘No more Angels or Monsters, just freedom…’_

These voices sounded so much like the ones Henry had heard when his vision went out, when he had seen those hallucinations. His hands shook as the figures stepped closer, curious of him. He could feel something dripping from his other eye as one reached out, gently placing a cold, wet hand onto his arm.

They looked at him with sad, golden eyes. _“Help us…”_

“I-I want to… but I don’t know how…!” Henry whispered, he really didn’t. Oh God, were these all former co-workers, employees of the studio? They looked like Sammy, ink coated and human, yet not. Yet they seemed more stable than him, more sane.

 _“You will know in time, you will free the Lost Ones.”_ Another one approached, carefully placing a hand on Bendy’s head, giving him a little pat. _“The Angel and the Monster, they must be stopped… you must stop him. Please, Creator, Devil Darling, you are our saviors… you will set us free.”_

“But we don’t know how.” Bendy frowned. “We’re not sure what to even do fer ourselves.” He placed a hand under his eye.

“The ink is gettin’ to us, we don’t know how much longer we got before we end up like everyone here, or worse.” Henry added on, looking at his right hand, showing them the mark. The figures, the Lost Ones that Henry was assuming, looked at it in wonder before another spoke up.

_“It is like Joey’s, yet different. It is not like what we had.”_

“What are these marks?”

 _“Ink stains.”_ A fourth spoke up. _“They appear somewhere and grow… they spread as our eyes change color. What happens to you after being marked is up to chance. Some are lucky to keep sane, others not so much.”_

 _“But your mark!”_ The second one grabbed Henry’s wrist, pointing at his palm. _“This is different! It is of Bendy, you must be special to be pleased with his gift! And your eye, just one… you are not like any of us. You are very special.”_

Henry frowned, he sure didn’t feel special. He felt even more confused and worried about himself and Bendy now. “We need to keep goin’, do you know where Alice Angel took Boris? Did she pass through here?”

The Lost Ones looked at each other, murmuring to themselves before the one holding Henry’s wrist guided him towards the back wall, Bendy following behind. There was a vent, with the words **NO ANGELS** painted above it in ink. _“She did not pass through here, but she is beyond this vent. You will need to get to her through Storage 9. Henry, Bendy, be careful, who knows what she’s got planned back there.”_

“You know my name?” Henry asked, looked at the inky figure with wide eyes.

It was hard to tell, but he thought the Lost One was smiling. _“You were our head animator, of course I know… take the light, go through the vents, and be careful. There are… monsters waiting for you in the park.”_

Henry wasn’t sure what that meant, but he would take the warning to heart. “Thank you, we’ll do our best to get everythin’ fixed. I promise.”

 _“We won’t hold you to it, but we will be waiting.”_ The Lost One nodded, giving him the light before Henry knelt down to crawl into the vent. It was a tight squeeze, but he was glad for his size, for once. Bendy shimmed behind him, keeping close as Henry moved.

“What do ya think dat guy meant by ‘da park’?” Bendy whispered.

“I dunno, but I’m sure we’re gonna find out in a few minutes.” Henry replied as he got closer to a grated part of the vent up ahead. He could see a desk in the room through the gaps in the grate, along with a Bendy cutout. He was about a foot or so from it when something slammed right into the grate with a bang.

Bendy and Henry both shouted in alarm as they saw the inky, skeletal frame of the Other Bendy, before he lowered himself down a bit to let them see his dripping face. His grin was going wild as he dragged a claw across the metal of the grate, hurting the others’ ears before he stepped back.

**‘Keep going, you’re almost there.’**

The voice echoed in both their heads as the Ink Demon limped off, just out of view, his ink trails vanishing with him just seconds later. Bendy let out a loud, panicked wheeze as he clutched his chest. “Hoo boy! If I ever wanted to know if toons have hearts, dis is a real great moment of proof of dat fact! I think it just jumped outta mah chest…!”

“Welcome to my world, what the heck was that all about?” The human swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m gonna have a heart attack if this keeps up, I’m too old for this.”

“Yer not dat old, an’ he’s scared ya worse then that! Let’s keep goin’, I’m sure we’re almost to da end of dis vent!”

It took a few minutes, and several dead ends, to finally find an open part of the vent to get out of. Henry tumbled out first, with Bendy following behind him, and they found themselves in another large room. This one contained a large Bendy statue, along with a door that led to Storage 9, their destination. Too bad the door was locked, just their luck.

“Think somethin’ upstairs could help?” Bendy asked as he gestured to a staircase at the back of the room, leading up to what looked to be a giant dome, shaped like Bendy’s head, with the mouth as the entrance. Looking at it made Henry grimace, jeez, that was tacky, even for this place. He watched as Bendy made his way up the stairs before following behind him.

What was contained in the dome was a sight to behold.

Boards, covered in concept art, animation sketches, blueprints, and designs surrounded a table that had a 3-D map sitting on it. Bendy looked at the map in awe, curious of what it was, but Henry was more interested in the artwork. Some of it was some of his old work for the show, old concept art of Bendy, like him with wings and a tail, along with background character art.

Then he found the art of what appeared to be rides, of buildings, written plans and descriptions of what the art was meant for. He found sketches for carts, trashcans, buildings and layouts of a park.

An amusement park, to be exact.

“This… this was gonna be for a theme park, ‘Bendy Land’? Did you know about this?” Henry asked, absolutely floored by what he was seeing. This was so strange, yet he was impressed! This art was excellent, and even included his designs! A building even had a large Bendy on it, with his demon wings, at least someone else liked that idea!

“Nope! I figured I’d sure as heck would remember a theme park wit’ mah beautiful mug all over it!” Bendy exclaimed, excited as he looked at the art. “Wow! I wonder if dis is what Grant was talkin’ about when he said Joey had a new project in mind.”

“I think you’re right.” It appears that it never got anywhere, Henry would have known if a Bendy Land had been created.

He felt something tap his hand and found Bendy by his side, holding up a tape player. “Another one?”

Bendy gave a nod, pressing the play button, and the two heard a voice neither were familiar with.

_“For forty years, I've built attractions that stagger the imagination! Colossal wonders such as the world has never seen! I have earned my legacy with sweat._

_But right in front of everyone... high level investors, Wall Street tycoons, the ever-tactless Joey Drew introduces me, the great Bertrum Piedmont, as…_ Bertie!

_Like I was his child._

_You may be paying me, Mister Drew! But you don't own me! I'll build you a park, bigger than anything YOU could ever possibly conceive! But before you go taking any bows, Mister Drew, know that this grand achievement will belong to me... and to me alone.”_

“Charmin’.” Henry deadpanned. “I guess this Bertrum guy was the one who did all this. Wonder if he got out when he had the chance.”

“Here’s hopin’, heh, wouldn’t wanna run into a stuck up soundin’ guy like dat.” Bendy joked as he set the tape back on the table. “I found da switch fer da door!” He shouted as he ran over to a wall, pulling down a power switch. They heard in the quiet of the room the sound of the doors opening for Storage 9.

“Ready to see what’s in there?”

“Heh, yeah. Come on, let’s go save Boris!”

Who knew what laid behind the doors in that dark room, all they knew was to beware the monsters in the park.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter ten is done, chapter eleven will be the big one with all the Bendy Hell experiences (so be warned, it will be a LONG chapter).
> 
> I decided to give the Lost Ones some dialogue, and to give you all a little more information on the ink marks. Basically, it’s like an infection of sorts, but sadly, not everyone who got turned into a monster in this studio had the ink spread. 
> 
> Some just happened… to be experiments.
> 
> And as for the horror visions Henry is having… well… those might get to be explained later on, for now, I’m just gonna keep them as vague things caused by the ink. Also, sorry about Henry dying for a third time, at least the voice in the ink gave him some instructions!
> 
> Next chapter: Our heroes have found themselves in a sticky situation, another puzzle of sorts awaits them in order to find Boris. And they’re not gonna like what they see when they finally find their buddy. 
> 
> Come on down to Bendy Land, where horrors and fun await you behind every closed door!
> 
> Again, a huge thank you to you all for helping me get this far! And, again, a special thanks to brandyjin on tumblr for helping me with the art for this one through a collab we did! Thank you so much, and honestly, if anyone else would like to do a collaboration for the illustrations for the next chapter, hit me up on my tumblr, trashboatprince, and I’ll be happy to do the lines and ink for ya!
> 
> Thanks for reading, please comment and kudos! Hopefully I’ll have a great new chapter for you soon (and we might have to go on hiatus for a little bit of time cause, ya know, next chapter is what’s left of Chapter Four’s game play)


	11. You’re Now Entering the Amusement Park of Horrors! And What You See Will Deceive You…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The secrets of Storage 9 are revealed, and Henry realizes that Joey had more planned for their cartoon than he had ever expected. What will Henry and Bendy have to do to find Boris and get closer to the exit, what are the monsters that the Lost Ones warned them about, and will the Other Bendy be as much of a threat to them as the Other Alice is right now?
> 
> It’s just best to hold on and prepare to journey into a worse kind of Hell than what the studio’s provided so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, chapter eleven, the one I’ve been wanting to write since Chapter Four’s release.
> 
> We’re in for some thrills and chills with this chapter, my dear readers, so settle in for a long one.
> 
> Warning: violence, character death (is that even a warning? No one has really… died in this story, haha), blood, some minor graphic details. Sorry guys, had to bump up the warnings for this story cause of this chapter.
> 
> Fun fact: I’ve had the whole Bertrum battle written for this story in my notes since May. That’s how far ahead I’ve had this planned.
> 
> And if you notice that the scene with the Butcher Gang seems familiar, it’s because, for the most part, I took chunks of it from my Ink Spots side-story, Animatronic Wonders. Just made re-writing that scene a bit easier. Sadly, no dancing robot for this story.
> 
> Let me give a shout-out to the amazing guest artists of this chapter! brandyjin did the coloring for the second drawing, making my ink work look awesome! thedobermutt/doberart did the third art, and she made the scene look way better than I could have! Thank you guys so much, you both did a fantastic job!
> 
> If you guys get the chance, check out their tumblrs, they have more fantastic art there. Dober is a good friend of mine who draws a really handsome Henry (and helps make cool aus with me and our friends), and brandyjin does a great job at drawing fanart for aus for this series!
> 
> On with the fic!

Years ago, when Joey Drew Studios was only about a year old, Henry had asked Joey what he wanted planned for the future when Bendy became a bigger hit than he already was now. Henry remembered Joey laughing, seeming almost embarrassed, as he explained to his best friend that he wanted Bendy and his friends to have an amusement park.

He wanted it to be a place of dreams for children and adults everywhere.

What laid before Henry could be considered a place of dreams, if one saw the sight in front of him as a nightmare instead.

The doors to Storage 9 revealed to the animator and his cartoon a storage room full of shelves, props, and displays that were meant to be used for an amusement park. A sign hung above the platform the two stood on, showing Bendy’s happy face between the words **BENDY LAND** , though land had been written over in ink to display the word **HELL** instead. The sign’s lights were on, though a few lightbulbs popped and fizzed out as more power came on in the room, illuminating it.

“Oh, sugar honey iced tea…” Bendy stared in awe at all the content he could see in the room. “They really were buildin’ a theme park fer me.”

Henry felt uncomfortable as he looked at the sign, before noticing a Lost One sitting on some construction supplies, looking at them curiously. They then turned away, refusing to make eye contact, looking a little nervous.

“Yeah, guess they had enough money here to get started. Come on, we need to find a door to get out.” Henry replied as he sighed. There was a small cough, catching Bendy and Henry’s attention. The Lost One was looking at them again. Henry was sure if they had pupils, they’d be shifting back and forth from being unsure.

 _“Y-You’ll find it, at the Mad House.”_ The Lost One stated, though they spoke quietly. _“The doors are locked, you’re gonna have to figure out how to open them, she has a system for them set up…”_

“Thank ya kindly, my friend.” Bendy pretended to tip a hat at them as he followed Henry down a flight of stairs to get to the ground floor. The little devil found a scattering of wires around the place, curious what they were for as he walked with Henry. This place gave him the creeps, the blank smiles and faces of objects that represented him, his friends, and characters from shorts was unsettling.

Though he did have to admit, those trashcans of his head were adorable. He wondered if he could put one of those in his hammerspace, would be great to have it when he escaped!

He looked over at Henry, who seemed to be examining some of the shelves in curiosity, before shoving one of the trashcans behind himself. Bendy just grinned when Henry looked over at him, none the wiser as Bendy happily went past him to check out the strange building he could only assume to be the ‘Mad House’.

It was obvious that the Mad House was clearly a haunted house-like ride, just from seeing the outside. And it appeared to be based on something from an episode, an old Halloween one where Bendy and Boris go to check out what was called, well, the Mad House. The plot had it so that Bendy and Boris almost get devoured by the house, but it turns out it really just wanted their candy.

For a children’s cartoon, there sure were a lot of episodes that almost ended in Bendy meeting his maker.

Well, he’s met his maker, literally, and the guy was standing nearby. And there have been a lot of attempts on their lives lately… wow, this almost seems like the plot of an episode!

Bendy chuckled lightly to himself, he’s thought about it a while now. Him and Henry in a cartoon, written by Joey Drew, where they keep running into all sorts of trouble and have to figure a way out. Oh, he’s thought of a few adventures for himself and his creator, one has Bendy on a scrap of paper but could turn into a cool monster who helps Henry when dipped in ink. Another had it where Henry was stuck in the studio for thirty years and Bendy was the one to come back, thanks to a letter from Joey.

There was an interesting one with futuristic science-fiction stuff and Boris could talk in that one, and Henry’s axe was all weird and glowy! And Bendy had a tail! There was another one where Henry seemed to be in a small, toony town with him, Alice, and Boris and they had him do stuff for them cause he was their mayor. Oh! And the animation style Bendy thought for this one was very cute.

He even thought about a weird idea where Henry turned into a toon and Bendy was chasing him around, not the Ink Demon Bendy, but he himself! Often pulling pranks on him too! Another toon one had Henry being turned into one by that Other Alice. How? Bendy hadn’t thought that far ahead, but he did like the idea of Henry with a little halo on his head, same with a set of horns, it was cute.

Of course, the cartoon the demon often imagined the most was the whole crazy adventure they were on now! The best way to ease the fears and anxieties of the situation at hand was to just imagine it as another episode from the show.

He could see it now, on a poster! Bendy in… _Ink Spots_! Starring Henry the Animator in his debut cartoon!

“What are you snickerin’ at over there?” Henry asked as he started to follow the trail of wires on the floor, wondering if they were important.

“Oh, just comparin’ all of dis stuff we’ve been goin’ through to one of mah shorts. A lotta them had me almost gettin’ killed an’ stuff, an’ I thought that what we’re goin’ through now is sorta like that! Only wit’ a real chance of dyin’, but ya know what I mean.”

“And why were you laughin’ about that?”

Bendy grinned as he caught up with him. “Cause I was picturin’ da poster fer da episode, callin’ it Ink Spots on account of all da ink around da studio! An’ I was thinkin’ of what you’d look like as a toon! Actually, I’ve thought of several cartoon versions of ya, but I think I’m gonna stick wit’ dis one design of ya, much more fittin’ wit’ how ya look.”

Henry smirked a bit. “Was I a handsome toon in your imagination?”

“Well… ya look a bit younger, so sure! Why not!”

“Hah, I’d like to think I’ve aged well, like a fine wine.”

“Sure, keep tellin’ yerself dat, big guy.” Bendy winked before seeing a wall with a line of switches. “Whatcha think those are for?”

Henry approached, looking them over before looking at the wires on the floor. Glancing back up, he saw that a sign stated that this was a power station. “I think these power up stuff in the room, and probably in the closed off areas. Hopefully it also powers the haunted house. From what I saw, the doors are closed and most likely locked. Great, just more stuff for us to do, why does everything have to be a chore around here?”

“Joey just likes to make everyone’s lives a real livin’ hell, ya know?” Bendy frowned, crossing his arms as he glanced around, tapping his foot a little. “I bet we should keep lookin’ around, right?”

“Yeah.” Henry pulled on one of the switches, nothing happened. “I think we need to turn on the power for these, probably somethin’ around here that can do that.”

The little devil and the artist moved about before finding two booths for carnival games, along with a strong man game nearby. Sitting between the two booths was another audio tape. Once the play button was pushed, Henry felt uncomfortable hearing the voice of Wally speaking. If his theory is correct, their Boris also happened to be Wally, and the idea that the Other Alice could be harvesting the former janitor was… unsettling on so many levels.

_“These guys down in the warehouse get to play games all day while I'm stuck cleanin’ up after 'em. They kept lockin’ themselves out of their own back room._

_So I says, look guys, I says, you're smart, right? Here's an idea!_

_Why not rig these games up to knock open the door if ya win? It'll be fun for you guys, and it saves me the trip down here every day._

_They went for it like a dog to pot roast. I tell ya! If these guys don't start realizin’ who the real genius is, I'm outta here.”_

“So… we gotta play da games then, yeah?” Bendy asked, looking at the booths with interest. The lights in them were on and they looked like they could be a lot of fun to play…

“Seems like it.” A yellow and a green eye followed one of the wires on the floor towards a closed door. “I think we gotta play to open that door, so let’s do this. Which one do you wanna play?”

Bendy grinned and pointed to the right. “Da ball toss one!” The game had three stacks of bottles and three balls sat on the counter. The booth on the left had a pellet gun and looked to be a bullseye game.

“Then I’ve got this one.” Henry picked up the gun, nearly jumping out of his skin when music started to play from somewhere, and targets popped right up. Thinking quickly and trusting his instincts, Henry quickly took aim and fired at targets that popped up that weren’t marked with an X. Every one of them he hit made a tiny Bendy move along a path on a sign that hung above the game.

Henry hit one last target and heard a happy chime. “I think ya won! Wow, yer a great shot, Henry!” Bendy cheered as he picked up the balls from the other booth.

The music started up again as Bendy smiled brightly. He swung back his arm before spinning it so fast that is blurred, then launched the ball. It bounced off the booth, past Henry and Bendy, struck a shelf, bounced off the floor, and then hit the ceiling before somehow launching itself right back at the booth.

There it struck one stack of bottles, then the other two, before dropping to the ground. The happy chime played again and the door to the side opened.

“… How the heck did you do that?” Henry asked, following Bendy to the new room.

“Eh, it’s just a toon thing! You’re gonna have to learn to just accept dat dis is how I do-AAAAAHHH!” The demon screamed and jumped into Henry’s arms when they entered the new room.

Henry almost asked what scared him, but the sight of strange, terrifying Bendy costumes and masks was a good reason to scream like that. “Oh. Uhh… I guess they were gonna have people dressed up as you, it seems.”

“Good gravy an’ biscuits! Dat would scare everyone away, why not just have me, in da flesh, walkin’ around da park!?”

“Cause they have people in costumes at other amusement parks, like at that Disney one. I’ve seen pictures, those were pretty scary in the first few years.” But not as scary as these, there was something almost unholy about them, even more so than the blank smiles of the cutouts and posters.

Bendy covered his eyes as Henry walked in, pulling down the switch. Quickly, he walked out of the room, setting Bendy down. “Let’s just keep gettin’ those switches, looks like we don’t need to go back in that room.”

The cartoon nodded, before spotting something. It was another game, a strongman one. “Hey, Henry! Give dis one a try! I wanna see if ya can ring da bell, ol’ man!”

“I’m not that old.” Henry rolled his eyes, approaching the game before he picked up the mallet that had been set aside. It didn’t seem like it would make for a good weapon, he noted, it was just meant for this game. Would be too much effort to use on an enemy, probably more useless than the plunger, if that was possible. He lifted it up over his head before bringing it down on the lever at the bottom of the game, where a piece of metal shot right up and struck the bell.

“ **Tell me, are you having fun?** ” The Other Alice spoke over speakers in the room. “ **I'm sure Boris doesn't mind waiting for his rescue party.** ”

Henry dropped the mallet with a huff. “Well, excuse me for not knowin’ what around here activates things and what doesn’t. How about you just open the doors for us so we can get this over with?”

There was no reply from her and the human shook his head, he knew she wouldn’t make things easy at all. He felt Bendy touch his hand before he gripped it gently, following his friend towards the power station to flip the first lever, now that it was ready. He would deal with Alice when the time is ready, which hopefully would be very, very soon.

The Other Bendy wants her taken care of, same with the voice in the ink. Well, even without them, Henry wanted to stop her, he had Boris, Wally, to save, and he’d be damned if he couldn’t do something to get him out of her grasp.

After the switch was pulled, they found that another door had opened not too far away. A sign was above the door, showing that the now-opened room was for research and design. The two walked into the new area and were startled by the sound of gates suddenly dropping behind them.

“Great…” Henry hissed, seeing that the door was now blocked off, which meant that they’d need to find a switch for it probably.

“Uhh… Henry? We’ve got bigger problems.”

Henry turned and looked over at the room, seeing Bendy near a railing that looked down into more of the giant workspace. He cursed under his breath when he realized what Bendy meant when he said they had problems. Down below was the off-model Butcher Gang. It was just one of each of those deformed toons, but they could still be a problem for the creator and his creation.

Bendy whimpered, staring over the railing at the Butcher Gang, who seemed to be gathered around a fire in a trash can. “I thought we got rid of those guys upstairs…” He whispered, glancing over at Henry.

Henry scratched the back of his head as he watched the deformed toons. “Yeah, hmm… I wonder how we can get past them. I don’t have a weapon, and I don’t want you fighting them alone, they don’t go down as easily as the Searchers do.” As amazing and helpful as Bendy’s one-touch kill was, it still took a few slaps to kill the Butcher Gang.

Guess the more ‘stable’ ink creatures were able to withstand his inky touch, at least for a few hits. Explains why Bendy couldn’t make the other him pop like he could Searchers when they were fighting. There are always limitations, even when one has demonic ink powers. Speaking of, Henry was sure he could take them out himself if he used his ink, but he still wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. Besides, why risk irreversible damage on himself over these fools?

Shifting from where he leaned on the railing, Henry bumped an empty can of bacon soup, watching it drop with wide eyes. Oh shit! It clattered loudly, and the Butcher Gang took notice, hobbling over to the can to look at it in confusion.

Blinking, Bendy and Henry looked at one another, a lightbulb suddenly appeared above Bendy’s head as he grinned at his friend. “You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”

“Throw the cans and let them chase them so we can find the switch?”

“Yep!” Bendy looked around, finding a few empty cans scattered about. He quickly gathered them up, handing a few to Henry. “I think da switch we need is over there, to da left.” He pointed to the entryway on the side with the ink waterfall.

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” Henry nodded, glancing back at the gated off door, knowing that they’d still have to find a way to get that opened. Why was everything here against them? Whatever, he made his way over to the stairs and held one of the cans, throwing it. It arched and landed not too far from the Butcher Gang, yet not far enough so that they couldn’t see Henry and Bendy sneak by.

Bendy lifted his own can up, throwing it hard after doing a toon-ish wind up motion with his arm, just like he had done with the carnival game. It sailed far and smacked right into the wall on the right side, bouncing off into another entryway. It wasn’t as silly and toonish like the ball had been, but it was still a good throw. This got the deformed Toons’ attention easily and they made their way over to the source of the sound.

“Go, go!” Bendy whispered, pushing Henry to get him to move faster.

Henry huffed, moving as fast as he could, which wasn’t exactly easy, considering he was still aching something terrible from the elevator fall.

He didn’t hurt quite like he had when he woken up, but there were still pains in his back and ribs. He’d probably need to rest like he had back at the safehouse to be able to heal up to almost one hundred percent, but there was no chance of that. Right now, he had to just deal with the pain and hope that they didn’t get hurt any time soon.

Luckily, they got to the area they needed to enter without any trouble, so that was a small blessing. They heard the soft sobs of a Lost One, who only glanced at them before returning to their crying, best to leave the poor fella alone.

“Here’s the switch.” Bendy smiled, pulling it down when he spotted it, but then his attention went to an audio log left on the table. It had a strip of masking tape on it, with the name Lacie Benton on it. He pushed the play button, and a gruff woman’s voice started to speak.

_“The only thing that works around here is my ulcer. Half these people don't know a wrench from a dang steamroller. Buncha morons is what they are._

_Spend their day in the warehouse arguin' over who's supposed to be doin' that or playing them silly games._

_Still, I'm not complainin'. I get most of my time to myself. Suits me just fine._

_Only thing that bothers me is that mechanical demon in the corner. Bertrum's been working on it for a month now. Says it will walk someday and maybe dance. All it does now is give me the creeps._

_I swear, when my back's turned, that thing's movin'.”_

“What’s she talkin’ about?” Henry frowned, looking over at the back of the room, before letting out a small, startled noise.

Sitting on a workbench in the back of the room was a robotic-looking creature. Carefully, the human approached with his demon following beside him to take a look. The robot was split in two, divided at the middle, so that its legs and hips sat at the end of the work bench, but its torso and head laid beside it. It was somewhat human in shape and size, but the head was clearly meant to look like Bendy.

Half of the face was there, with the white face, black horns, and widow’s peak, along with the signature smile and eye. Yet the other half was obviously robotic, the smile was bigger, meant to be a speaker, and it had a gaping hole where an eye should be. It was on the left side, and it leaked ink, not exactly a pleasant sight to behold.

It was obviously an animatronic, but it appeared to either be broken or unfinished, considering that it was in two parts, and was missing its left hand and forearm.

Bendy let out a nervous laugh as he looked at his mechanical duplicate. “W-well, can’t say I was expectin’ to see this sorta thing…”

“Me either. Well, things like this were startin’ to become popular a while ago, I think those Disney parks have these kinda things, except…” Henry grimaced, “they’re probably not as creepy lookin’ as this guy.”

Reaching over, Bendy grabbed the other half of the robot’s face, left beside it on the table. “I don’t think it’s dat creepy, kinda neat dat there was gonna be a robot me runnin’ around da park!” He chuckled and tried to put the face over his own, looking up at Henry. “Well, how do I look?”

“Like somethin’ from a horror movie.”

“Perfect! Fits this place anyway!” He moved to try to put it on the animatronic, but it just dropped off, landing on the ground with a loud clank. Both the demon and the animator tensed up, hoping that it hadn’t caught the attention of the three monsters out in the other room. But all they heard was the continuous sobs of the Lost One.

Henry bit his lip before looking at Bendy. “Hopefully we can sneak back up the stairs without gettin’ noticed… come on, Bendy.” He noticed that Bendy wasn’t looking at him, but instead at the robot. He seemed to be thinking about something before his mismatched eyes looked at Henry’s hand.

“Say… Henry, ol’ buddy… do you think?” He had a nervous, hopeful smile on his face.

It took a moment for Henry to figure out what Bendy was thinking and he shook his head. “No.”

“Oh, come on!”

“I’m not gonna try to see if I can bring it to life! I know I can heal you and make mini yous, but I highly doubt I can make a robot you move around!”

“Not wit’ dat attitude!” The Toon pouted, crossing his arms. “Come on! Wouldn’t it be great if he was alive? He could help us out, bet there’s lots of crazy things here dat could hurt us, maybe he could even fight off dat other me! Speakin’ of...” Bendy covered his normal eye up, using his off-model eye to ‘see’ what the Ink Demon could see to find his location.

This strange power was still weird, and Bendy needed more time adjusting to it, but being able to ‘see’ what the Other Bendy ‘sees’ is helpful when you have no idea where he’s wandering around. That’s a thankful little gift from coming out of the same ink as that scary guy.

He frowned, all he saw was ink and darkness, seems that the creepy version of him was walking around in the inky puddles instead of the halls. Didn’t seem like he even knew where Henry and Bendy were, probably for the best.

After that whole vent incident, Bendy would rather have him walking around in the Puddles than being out and about in this area. “He ain’t anywhere close to us, but still, what if robo Bendy could help us! Maybe we can have him fight that evil Alice an’ save Boris!”

“You just want to see him dance.”

Bendy opened his mouth to argue, but… shoot, Henry knew him too well, he mainly just wanted to see the robot dance. He decided to just smile and bat his eyes, maybe he could work the ol’ charm on this guy! He wanted to see the darn thing cut a rug, is that too much to ask?

Henry just crossed his arms, shaking his head, making Bendy groan in frustration. “Ah, huckleberry jam! I was hopin’ you’d fall fer dat!”

“Please, I designed you, you can’t fool me with a trick I gave you.” He smirked as he went to grab a few more empty cans around the area, making his way over to the Lost One. “Excuse me?”

They snapped their head up, looking startled. _“Y-yes?”_

“Do you know how to open the door upstairs?”

They gave a nod. _“Yeah, there’s, uh, there’s a switch on the other side of this room… do you… do you think you could help me out? I’ve been stuck here for a while; those guys out there will slaughter me if they see me…”_

Bendy grinned, giving them a thumbs up. “Sure! We can help ya out! We’ll try to take out them freakish toons!”

Henry frowned as he side-eyed Bendy, did he really think they could take on three of those guys at once without weapons? But Henry wasn’t going to say no to this, he didn’t want to upset the Lost One more than they already were. They moved towards the end of the hall, looking out to see that the Butcher Gang were near the fire again. “So, what’s the plan?”

“I’ll be a diversion.”

“What?” Blinking, he looked down at the toon, seeing that the gold of his eye was glowing faintly.

“Henry, trust me on dis, I’ll be fine, it’ll just be for a small amount of time.”

He shook his head. “Bendy, no, what if you can’t change back, then what will you do?”

Bendy just grinned once more. “Trust me, I’ve got dis. You just get dat switch, okay?” Before Henry could say anything further, Bendy ran right into the open, waving his arms about, ink splattering on the ground.

 _“HEY UGLIES!”_ The demon shouted, the tips of his gloved fingers becoming almost claw-like as he smirked. They quickly turned their attention to the toon as Henry started to slip into the open. _“Yeah, come at me, big boys! Go ahead an’ fight me! Slice an’ dice an’ serve on rice, I’m wide open!”_

‘Charley’ grumbled as it limped its way over, raising its wrench in the air, only to be punched right in the jaw by Bendy. Mismatched eyes saw the other members coming over to help their comrade while Henry slipped into the other room with ease.

The smirk on Bendy’s face revealed sharp teeth as he cracked his knuckles. Oh, he wasn’t gonna go full-on ink demon like when he fought the Other Bendy, but he sure as heck needed an excuse to release some stress built up by that angel-wannabe! Moving fast, Bendy slammed his boot right up into ‘Edgar’s’ chin, knocking it backwards.

He then grabbed onto ‘Barley’s’ pole and with a bit of effort, swung it around, slamming the deformed character into the other toons.

‘Charley’ splattered into ink, but ‘Edgar’ was gonna be a stubborn and not dissolve.

 _“Oooh, ya wanna be trouble, eh? Well guess what, pally! Trouble’s mah middle name!”_ Bendy punched it in the stomach, watching his fist go right through the monster, making it dissolve quickly. All that was left was ‘Barley’, who didn’t seem to even know what the heck was happening.

It was a quick death for the once-sailor as Bendy slapped it, hard. Its body quivered and popped like a bubble, leaving Bendy standing around splatters of ink. He let out a breath, shaking out his hands as they returned to their normal appearance. The gold of his eye was back to normal, and boy did he feel a lot better! He needed that, all this business with the Other Alice hurting and tricking Henry in order to kidnap Boris really boiled his ink up something bad!

“Bendy?”

Bendy turned and grinned, running over to Henry as he came out of the small room he had been in. “I did it! Don’t worry, I’m da same ol’ Bendy! Wait, is mah eye black or anythin’ weird?”

“No, it looks just as it always does. Is mine still…?”

The demon sadly nodded, wondering what the heck was up with that, but at least Henry was perfectly normal, and that’s what mattered! After getting the Lost One out of their hiding spot, they returned to Storage 9 and flipped the power switch for the next door.

The new room that opened up was the attraction storage room, and from what Henry and Bendy could see, the small area the door revealed doorways that opened into a whole new room. They also took notice to the heartless corpse of an ‘Edgar’ laying on the ground. They hadn’t seen one of those since Level 14, where the Projectionist had dwelled. It was best to just ignore it and move on to the bigger room.

The doorways revealed a large space, full of discarded crates, barrels, and pieces of rides from planned attractions for Bendy Land. The walls had posters for said rides, showing what was to be planned. Henry saw signs such as _The Mad House_ and _Darlin’ Duck Boats_ , which explained some of the duck heads he had seen.

The main item in the room was the large carnival ride that sat in the middle. It looked old, covered in dust, cobwebs, ink, and a bit of rust. It appeared to even be unpainted, as if it were completed and ready to go, but didn’t have its finishing touches started. It had four arms from what he and Bendy could see as they stepped into the room. At the end of the arms were four seats that Bendy approached, wanting to get in, but he stopped himself.

“What sorta ride was dis gonna be?” He asked, looking around the room, shuddering at the creepy looking clown chair not too far from them.

“I think it’s called an octopus ride, or somethin’ like that. Now where is that switch…” Henry frowned as he tried to find it, circling the whole room. Something didn’t feel right about this place, it was almost as if he and Bendy weren’t alone. But there wasn’t a Searcher in sight, nor did those Butcher Gang clones follow them out.

Hell, he didn’t even know if the Angel could see them in here, but it felt like they had some company.

“Henry! I found somethin’!” Bendy shouted from across the room, making the human come back over to him. In the toon’s hands was an audio log, he had taken it from a work bench in the room. “Wonder who is gonna talk dis time, there’s no name on it.”

Bendy pressed play and the voice of Bertrum echoed in the room as the tape was put back on the workbench. Henry quickly took notice to the fact that the player had a cord coming out of it, hooked up to a speaker nearby. Wonder why it was like that while the others they had run into in the past weren’t.

_“The biggest park ever built, a centerfold of attractions. Each one… more grand than the one before it. It makes my eyes come to tears at the thought._

_But then... oh Mister Drew._

_For all your talk of dreams, you are the true architect behind so many nightmares.”_

There was a terrible feeling in the room, both the human and the demon could feel it in their ink and blood.

_“I built this park.”_

The lights in the room got a little brighter, heck, the lights on the ride came to life! Oh, this can’t be good…

 _“It was to be a masterpiece!_ My _masterpiece! And now you think you can just throw me out? Trample me to the dust and forget me?”_

The arms of the ride twitched, steam coming out of them and the center of the ride as it came to life. Bendy screamed, hearing a loud bang behind them as the entryways to the room were slammed shut by metal gates, locking them into the room. “H-Henry…!”

 _“No! This is_ my _park!_ My _glory!”_

“Oh shit..!” Henry shoved Bendy behind himself, backing away as the arms started moving more, slamming their carts into the ground.

_“You may think I've gone... But I'm still here!”_

Panels on the center tower of the ride opened, revealing a terrifying face. The face was of a man, bloated, the eyes bulging as ink dripped from the corner of his mouth. He looked as if he had been strangled to death, and it made Henry scream.

The eyes of the head, of Bertrum, stared at them, before the ride spun around. It came to a stop after a turn, slamming one of its arms down, smashing both the workbench and the audio log.

“RUN!” Bendy screamed, running away with Henry following behind.

“How the hell do we get out of here?! The gates are closed, where’s the switch?!” Henry panicked, grabbing Bendy to pull him out of harm’s way as carts flew by them. Bertrum slammed his arms down a few times before stopping. That’s when the animator noticed something on the extensions.

The joints!

They were lit up like the lights on the ride, but they weren’t like that when the machine was spinning! If they broke the joints, they could stop the arms, they’d be completely useless!

“Bendy! We gotta break his joints!” Henry pointed at the round pieces, just seconds before the lights went out, the arms moving around in circles once more.

Bendy nodded but realized something. “Henry, you don’t got a weapon to break ‘em off! How are we gonna-!” He saw a discarded, old wrench nearby, grabbing it with glee. “Hold on, bud, I’ll get ‘em!”

The octopus ride stopped his spinning once more, dropping his arms low enough that Bendy could reach. The demon rushed forward, much to Henry’s protests, and approached an arm. He lifted up the wrench and slammed it down against a joint, breaking it off with a single strike. Ink sputtered out and Bendy grinned. He looked over at Henry, giving him a thumbs up.

Henry smiled, but his face turned to that of shock when Bertrum’s arm jerked. “Bendy! Look out!”

It was too late for Bendy to run, the arm slammed into him, sending the toon flying. He landed against a cart on the next arm, the air knocked out of him when the safety bar struck his chest. He gasped in pain, trying to breathe, but Bertrum wasn’t done with him yet.

The former engineer shook his arm, throwing Bendy right up into the ceiling, hard enough to have the demon literally splatter his ink onto the surface. Henry watched in absolute horror as his creation dropped, before he was sent flying once more when he hit Bertrum’s limbs in full spin. Bendy struck a wall, dropping onto discarded supplies.

“B-Bendy…?” Henry wheezed, his toon just laid there. He wasn’t moving… he wasn’t… oh god, blood and ink were pooling under him…

No, no, no, no! He couldn’t- cartoons can never truly die, right? Right? Bendy wasn’t, but he wasn’t moving, he didn’t even look to be breathing.

Henry shook violently before he screamed, practically roared, in rage.

He felt a horrible burning in his hand as ink exploded from it, a wave of deformed Bendy clones burst forth. Like with the fight with the Projectionist, they crawled up Henry’s arm quickly, forming an inky, thick coating. But they didn’t stop there, no, they spread over his chest, as a shield, moving down his other arm to create an inky, clawed glove. Ink dripped from his right eye as the iris practically glowed gold in a sea of black.

He screamed again and charged towards Bertrum, before being hit by a cart. The inky coating of his right arm took the blunt of the strike, making him skid across the ground. That hurt, but it probably would have broken a few bones if the ink hadn’t taken the majority of the strike. A bit of pain was the least of Henry’s concerns right now. He had to focus on this fight, he had to take down this man for what he did to Bendy!

Henry snarled, almost like a beast, the inky glove over his right hand changed, shifting into what looked to be an axe. Once the ride stopped, Henry bolted and slammed his axe hand right down on a joint, before doing it to a second one. Bertrum looked to be in pain as he watched Henry damage him, so he started to spin once more. His plans to send Henry flying like Bendy had were thwarted as Henry clung, his hands gripping tightly.

Bertrum could see that the human was more monster than man at this point, as ink covered half his face. His right eye was still black and yellow, his left completely covered except for a green glow under the curtain of ink. No matter, he would destroy this threat to his masterpiece, one way or another. He spun himself faster before stopping to slam his appendage up and down, trying the remove the man. However, it seems that the stranger wasn’t going to be removed that easily, as it appeared that he was holding on with a death grip now.

Letting go with his left hand, Henry grabbed at a joint, and with some effort, he tore it right off. Once he did it to the last one, Bertrum shouted in pain, his arm snapping off with a shower of sparks from the connection point.

Henry rolled away from the damage, nearly being struck by a flying swing from the demented manager. He huffed, backing up before going into a full-on run. With one good jump, Henry landed in a set of carts as the ride went faster than before. As he spun around, the former animator saw that Bendy was still lying where he had dropped, the puddle of ink and blood looked bigger.

 _“I’ll tear you apart, limb by limb!”_ Henry shouted, grabbing onto the metal of the arm, digging his inky claws right in. He slowly began to claw his way up to another weak spot, even with the G-force of the ride making it difficult. Henry raised his now-axe hand, striking another chunk of metal, watching with malicious joy as ink spat out of it. Another strike and there went the second one!

The mechanical monstrosity screeched in anger and pain, trying to throw Henry off once more. With one good throw, Henry was sent sailing. He threw up his arm, the Bendy clones shifted quickly, forming an ink shield just as Henry slammed into a few crates, breaking them with the impact. That hurt, making Henry see stars for a few moments, but that cleared up quickly as he sat up. Shaking off the dirt and chunks of wood, Henry stood up right, glaring over at the ride as Bertrum dropped his arms.

Moving fast, Henry sliced through the last two joints of the arm he had been riding, watching as this one exploded off like the first one had. This only served to infuriate Bertrum more, making his spins more erratic and crazier. Even in this ink-coated form, Henry had to avoid these moves, but one good strike from a cart had him rolling into that creepy clown bench when he was caught by surprise. The shield only softened the blow at the last second, but Henry took a hard hit to his side from the crash.

His head was hurting, as if he was hit with rocks. His vision blurred, but he felt the ink on his body, heck, he felt the ink in his body, move and he started to feel better, but there was still some terrible pains in a few spots. He panted, growling lightly as he watched the ride throw about his last two arms, watching him with those dead eyes. The rage that had been fueling Henry throughout this fight got stronger, damnit, it shouldn’t take this much effort to fight this monster!

Henry got up, rubbing at his cheek, seeing blood on his inky fingers. He hissed in pain, his ribs hurt worse than they had been since the elevator crash. The ink in and on him was working to heal him, though not as fast as he would have liked. The animator ignored the pain, he had to avenge Bendy! He wasn’t gonna be taken down this easily!

He rushed forward once more, slicing through a joint the moment Bertrum stopped. This went on for a few more minutes, but the longer it continued, the angrier Henry became.

All the stress that had been building up in Henry was coming out in this one moment, this battle.

What Joey has done to the studio they had once shared ownership of. Seeing Henry’s pride and joy turned into a building of ink and horrors. The Ink Machine, possibly the cause of all of this. Bendy losing his memories and being trapped inside of said machine. Sammy becoming a crazed prophet while Susie turned into a monster version of her beloved Alice Angel. The mysterious Ink Demon, Boris being kidnapped, Wally becoming a Boris…!

And Bendy… Bendy being attacked by a man who was so obsessed with his work and reputation that he turned himself into his own project!

Henry’s left eye was now glowing a brighter green than before, just like his right glowed a blazing gold.

He was down to the last joint, on the same arm, the same side, as the one that Bendy had first attacked. Henry had backed up, waiting for the moment to jump on the arm as it spun. Bertrum wasn’t going to let his last one be destroyed, he wouldn’t stop spinning, but Henry was zeroed in on that last weak point. The pin points of light that were now his eyes followed it closely, and when he was sure of himself, he jumped.

He grabbed onto the metal limb with his left hand, digging in his claws as deep as he could. The ink axe shifted and formed into a large, ink-gloved hand. **_“Good bye, Bertie.”_** He brought his hand down, breaking off the last joint piece.

Quickly, he jumped off of the arm as it broke off. He stood back, watching as Bertrum screamed, spinning incredibly fast as steam blasted out of him, pieces of machinery were flying everywhere. It took a few moments but Bertrum finally stopped spinning, his face staring at Henry from his window. His mouth moved, as if he was saying something, just as the window panels closed.

Henry was left standing in the silence in the room. He heard the doors to the entryways open, same with the door that had blocked them from the power switch, but he didn’t care. He had a little friend to check on, the switch and his throbbing pain could wait. Carefully, he approached Bendy, finding his toon still laying where he had fallen.

Kneeling down, Henry looked at Bendy, finding that there was obvious damage to his torso. A huge gash was in his side from when he crashed into the items on the floor. It looked like it had attempted to heal itself, but Henry knew that it would need his help. Bendy’s healing abilities were good, but he didn’t heal like Henry did. Ink had pooled out of him from the gash and his mouth, thin streams of blood were bright against the black liquid.

But even with all the damage, Henry could see that Bendy was breathing, and he felt so much relief from just those small movements his toon was making. Bendy was alive, he was alive and he was breathing, he was okay…

Seeing Bendy like that, it made Henry realize something… death was strange in this place, you never know when you could really die. What if Bendy had died, would he had gone to the ink and come back? Or would he had just… stayed dead? What if the same thing had happened to Henry when he died in the elevator, or at the hands of Bertrum if he hadn’t been lucky?

Was the voice in the Puddles always going to be there to help him out, or was it going to just let him die the next time Henry returned there? He hoped he wouldn’t have to return there if that’s an option, and he refused to let Bendy enter the Puddles.

Gently, the animator picked Bendy up, hearing a small, pained whimper come from the little devil.

 _“Bendy…?”_ He touched his cheek, looking him over. Bendy’s eyes slowly opened, he smiled weakly as he slowly wiggled his fingers, as if to wave.

“Hey… what happened?” He quietly asked, trying to sit up, but he hissed at the sharp pain in his side.

 _“Don’t move… you’re hurt.”_ Henry mumbled, moving to stand. He carefully walked towards the clown bench, setting Bendy down on it. _“Let me patch you up.”_

Reaching up, Henry touched at his cheek, knowing that it was still bleeding. He let the blood absorb into the ink, he had seen Bendy do this earlier, which made him wonder if Bendy could do what he was about to try. With his large, inky hand, Henry let the black liquid with specks of red pool off of it, dropping onto Bendy. The toon let out a cry at the stinging pain. _“It’s okay, let it works its magic on you, please. You’re very injured.”_

Bendy nodded, shutting his eyes tightly as he felt the ink spread out on his injury. Henry could see the ink shift and form, becoming more of the deformed Bendys for mere moments before they became absorbed into their counterpart.

The demon tried to relax as he laid on the bench, feeling Henry touch at his wound, trying to help seal it. “What happened? Did we win?”

_“We did, I broke him. I don’t think he’s dead, but I doubt Bertrum can do anythin’ to us now. Bendy… you could have died, please don’t rush in like that…”_

“I didn’t know he was gonna do dat.” He opened an eye, looking at Henry. Now that he was paying better attention, not as dizzy from the pain, he noticed that Henry looked so different. “You’re becomin’ an ink person...”

Henry paused, looking at his hands, before bowing his head. _“I gave in to save you and get us out of here.”_ A gloved hand touched his own ink one. Henry looked up at Bendy, the toon made eye contact as he moved his hand up, touching Henry’s cheek. He tried to wipe at the cut to the humans’ cheek, smearing ink and blood on him his thumb. Like before with the nosebleed, Bendy seemed to absorb it in his glove, Henry didn’t protest. Maybe the extra blood could help with the healing.

“Henry, promise me dat you won’t give in like dis, just… do what ya did earlier, against da Projectionist?”

Bendy dropped his hand, biting his lip. “What if da next time you change… it’s permanent… what if ya can’t change back to yer normal, ol’ self? Too many people here have givin’ into da ink, an’ look what’s happened to ‘em. Sammy, Bertie, heck, even dat Susie lady is probably Alice, it’s so obvious. I don’t want you to end up like ‘em, I don’t wanna lose you too. You’re all I’ve got left.”

Frowning, Henry nodded. _“I’m sorry, I don’t know if I can really promise this, Bendy. But I’ll do my best to not let the ink consume me, to not let it change me. But it helped me defeat Bertrum, he tried to kill us, I couldn’t let that happen. After I saw him try to kill you, I snapped.”_

Bendy sighed, leaning back against the seat cushion. “I did da same, when you were pulled into da ink. Heck, I let myself change a little back there wit’ da Butcher Gang. But it felt so good, blowin’ off some of dat built up steam, ya know? Heh, we’re gonna have to actually practice what we preach. No more just sayin’ we’re not gonna give into da ink an’ not followin’ through wit’ it, yeah?” He tried to smile, but he wasn’t feeling it.

Henry looked at him, nodding. Bendy was right, they kept saying they would stop giving into their anger, but it wasn’t easy, and hell, it’s obviously a case of easier said than done. He was getting tired of repeating it, mainly to himself, but Henry knew… he knew deep down in his being that this was something they were stuck with until they figured out how to remove the ink from his system and fix Bendy up to being just a regular, living toon.

And to do that, they’ll have to figure out what caused the mark and Bendy’s changes, and Henry suspected it had to do with the Ink Machine.

 _“I know, but it’s hard. We gotta get out of here as soon as possible, neither of us want to turn into monsters. But first, we gotta get Boris, make sure he’s safe and sound. He’s countin’ on us to save him from Alice. And once we get him, we’re getting’ out of here, no ifs, ands, or buts. And, like before, we’ll save any of this ink monster stuff for big threats, if our lives really depend on it if we can’t just fight off a threat with your touch or me with a weapon.”_ Henry replied as he rubbed at his face, pulling globs of ink off that had formed on the left side and in his hair.

He felt so much better after having vented his anger in that fight, and with Bendy being alive and healing, the ink no longer needed to protect him. So off it came, in wet chunks of the black stuff, dropping to the floor.

Bendy carefully sat up, rubbing at his side, feeling that it was sealed up, though it was still very sore. He reached out, rubbing at the ink on Henry’s face, trying to help him remove it.

He shivered as he saw the off-model copies of himself dropping off of Henry as wet splats on the floor. He wondered how smart those little ink blobs were, considering that they seemed to help protect Henry.

Though he was happy to see that the scratch Henry had on his cheek had healed up, just a red line now as it was finishing up. “Do ya feel alright, ol’ man? Ya doin’ okay?”

“I’m sore. Really, really sore, if I’m gonna be perfectly honest with ya, bud.” Henry admitted in his normal sounding voice, no longer distorted from the ink, pushing at the chunky liquid on his arm. He could feel some of it going back into his Bendy mark, but most of it just came off. It slipped through cracks in the floor, vanishing from sight.

He looked at Bendy, his green eye appeared normal, but his yellow eye was still black instead of white, looks like it was gonna stick around for a while longer. “I got shoved around a lot by Bertrum. But I’m more worried about you, you were almost sliced in two.”

“I’ll be alright, I’m healin’ up just fine, thanks to yer ink.” Bendy gave him a small, real smile. “At least we both survived, an’ we got da switch, right?”

Henry looked over his shoulder, to the other side of the room where the switch was. He told Bendy to wait a moment as he stood up, hissing at the soreness in his ribs. It wasn’t as bad as earlier, seeing as he was starting to heal up and the ink had protected him from most of the damage. But he was sure there were some more nasty bruises and cracks to add to his growing collection, fantastic. He slowly made his way over to the switch, pulling it down.

“That should do it, buddy, now we just got one last switch to find and we can get into the haunted house.” He stated as he walked over. “Think you can stand, or do you need me to carry you?”

Bendy shook his head as he got off the bench. “Nah, I don’t want ya feelin’ any more pain cause of yer injuries. An’ don’t you tell me you ain’t hurtin’ dat badly! I can hear it in yer breathin’, an’ see it in yer walk!”

“Heh, are you lecturin’ me?”

“Darn right I am, Ross! Now you need to be just as careful as you told me to be from now on! Strawberries an’ cream, I think we’re a couple of broken records cause we gotta keep sayin’ all dat over an’ over!” Bendy exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air before quickly gripping his side. “Ouch! Dat’s gonna be a problem, hope we don’t gotta fight again soon, oooh…”

“Take it easy, kid, your side is sealed but that looked like it really hurts.” Henry pointed out, seeing that the wound was sealed, with a very faint scar that could only be seen in the light at certain angles, just like his back scars.

“I got thrown about like a ragdoll, of course it hurts.”

“And that’s why I need us to take it easy.” Henry replied as he walked with Bendy towards the now-opened exit. “Who knows who or what we’re gonna run into next to get that last switch, yeah?”

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was going to just keep going, to go through the stuff with the Projectionist and the Mad House. But when I realized this chapter was seventeen pages, I had to stop. Sure, I could go on, but I figured it might be better to make a chapter twelve that is still part of Chapter Four’s content.
> 
> This way, I’ve got something to write before October 26th, when Chapter Five comes out, and I can do more art cause I’ve got a drawing I really, REALLY want to do for it.
> 
> Also, I hope you guys liked the little mentions to some other Bendy aus earlier on in this chapter! I couldn’t resist having Bendy think up of cartoons of him and Henry, and I thought it would be fun to base them on some of my favorite aus! 
> 
> Try to guess which ones I had Bendy bring up~ I’m sure a few of my readers will know which ones are theirs!
> 
> Next chapter: Three switches down, one more to go to power up the Mad House. It shouldn’t be that hard, right? What’s worse than fighting a mechanical amusement park ride?
> 
> Oh, I can think of two things…
> 
> Thanks for reading, please comment and kudos!!! And send some love to the amazing artists who helped me with this chapter, they’re total sweethearts for helping me out! Thank you so much!!!


	12. With a Surprise at the End of the Ride, Your Best Friend is Far Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just one lever left to pull, and then Henry and Bendy can finally get to Boris and the Other Alice.
> 
> But so much could go wrong between now and then…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, my dear readers! Here it is, chapter twelve, the last chapter before the release of Chapter Five!
> 
> I want to thank you all for helping me get this far, we’re so close to the final stretch of Ink Spots, and even though I don’t know much of anything for Chapter Five, I actually have a bit of the final scene for this story planned AND written out.  
> But I’m keeping that on the downlow for now.
> 
> Also, a big thank you to you all for giving this story over 5000 hits! Wow, was NOT expecting that when I first started this story, but you guys made it possible! :D
> 
> Warning: Character death (probably), violence
> 
> By the way, last chapter I included a strange drawing of a toon Henry, that was actually a promotional picture for the fanfic I had posted on my tumblr to practice the rubber hose style. I thought it would be fun to actually include it into the story!
> 
> Originally this chapter had a different line of lyrics for the title, but Bendyland recently came out and the lyrics are very fitting of what’s gonna happen in this chapter. Also, I really, really like that song (my favorite of Kyle Allen’s so far).
> 
> On with the fic!

“Three down, one more to go.” Henry said as he pulled the third switch on the power station, the sound of a door opening was heard from somewhere else in the room.

“Dat’s great, heh, we’re so close now.” Bendy smiled, rubbing at his side. It was still very sore, like he had just ran into a table or something, and he knew it was gonna ache for a bit. “Hey, Henry?”

The human glanced over his shoulder as he started to walk to find the last door. “Yeah, buddy?”

“Isn’t it weird dat… well… when we were upstairs doin’ all dem tasks for dat fake Alice, we had to be super careful of how much noise we made?” When he got a nod, Bendy continued. “I’ve noticed dat we’ve made a whole lotta noise down here, yet da other me hasn’t shown his face since da vents. Wouldn’t us playin’ da games an’ fightin’ monsters get his attention easier than walkin’ upstairs an’ use an elevator?”

Henry stopped, he… hadn’t paid attention to it until now, but yes, they’ve been making so much noise yet there wasn’t any sign of the Ink Demon since the vents. Was the demon off doing something else? Was he watching from the shadows, waiting for his moment to strike? Or was he trying to find a way to get to the Other Alice?

“I think it’s just for the best that we don’t bother with that guy. If he wants to show up, he can, if he doesn’t, then that works out just fine for us.”

The little imp nodded. “I hope he won’t bother us at all, but… yeah, heh.” Bendy reached up and covered his eye, using the other to ‘see’ where his counterpart was. All he saw was complete darkness. Well, if the guy was just wandering around in the ink, Bendy was just gonna leave him to that.

He really didn’t want to run into the Other Bendy, especially because he still had a debt to pay. And he didn’t know when the Ink Demon was going to come for it. But he had said that Henry will ask him for a favor in due time as well, would he wait to take Bendy away once he got want he wanted from Henry in return for whatever it is that the artist would ask for?

What… sort of favor would Henry ask for of the Ink Demon?

And what would Henry have to give up in return?

Bendy didn’t want to think about it, no, no, that’s just more stress on him! He already had enough on his plate and if he thought too much on that whole business, that plate was gonna overflow! Or worse, Bendy was gonna trip and splatter it everyone, making things so much worse.

A set of fingers were in his face, snapping a few times, catching his attention. Blinking, Bendy looked up at a concerned Henry. “Bendy, you alright? You spaced out on me.”

“I… heh, sorry, ol’ man. Just got lost in mah own mind, ya know?”

“Hm, thinkin’ too hard on somethin’ there, buddy?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Bendy sighed dramatically. He then noticed a new doorway that had been closed before, now opened. A sign above it said that this doorway led to the maintenance room. “What sorta horrors do ya think are waitin’ fer us in there?”

Henry frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. “Hopefully nothin’ like Bertrum, I’m still in pretty bad shape after that whole mess. I wish we could sit down and let me rest it off like we did when we fell through the floor.”

“Yeah, but we were in da safehouse, an’ we don’t have anythin’ like dat here. Nor do we really got da time to rest right now…” Bendy placed his hand against is side, wincing at the ache when he touched the tender wound. Sure, it was sealed up, but it was sore. It wasn’t like the scratches the Ink Demon had made against his back a few days ago, those weren’t deep, they healed up quickly enough so that they didn’t hurt much.

But this? Bendy took one heck of a pounding from that Bertrum fellow and ended up with a chest that felt like it was a beaten side of beef, tender enough for a cookout. Didn’t help that when he crashed into those crates and broken ride parts, his side was cut open, and it was a nasty deep cut. How he didn’t bleed out was a lucky wonder, maybe it was from his natural ability to heal as a toon? Or it could be the blood in his body from Henry, since his back wounds healed when the blood mixed with his ink.

That, or Bendy was too damn difficult to kill.

Still, he didn’t want to push his luck, and he didn’t want to push Henry’s either. The man was human, even if he had demonic ink in his veins. He could clearly get seriously injured, and he’s died thrice now. Who knew how many more times he could die before he’d never return from the Puddles?

Actually, that made Bendy worried… could he, himself, even go to the Puddles when he died?

He’s never died before, at least not to his knowledge, would he be like Henry and return? Or would he just be another lost voice in the inky swell of life and death?

Bendy shuddered and made his way for the door to the new area, following after Henry who moved on ahead. They found themselves in a small hall, with a poster advertising the Buddy Boris Railway, along with another one for _Train Trouble_. On a few walls, written in ink, was the words ‘ **CHOO CHOO** ’.

Henry raised an eyebrow at this. “I don’t know if this one is a joke, or if its someone’s bad attempt to be ominous.”

“I think it’s a bad joke.” Bendy snorted. “But I suppose its fittin’ if we’re gonna be seein’ some stuff fer trains.”

“I saw notes and artist concepts for a train ride for Bendy Land. Guess it was suppose to be themed around Boris, or at least have him in control of the trains.”

“How weird, you’d think da ride would be based on me, I was da conductor in Train Trouble.” Bendy said as he moved to a new area, not liking that there was a Little Miracle Station in this tiny area that led to a stairwell. Henry didn’t like it either, something in his blood and ink told him that it might have to actually be used.

That was unsettlingly ominous.

He glanced at the stairwell, seeing that the steps led into a flooded room for the maintenance area, great. Just their luck, another flooded area to deal with. But just as Henry moved to go down the stairs, he stopped when he heard loud splashing, and saw a bobbing spotlight.

“Oh no… no, it can’t be…” He stammered, stepping back, his eyes wide as he unconsciously felt the mark on his hand get wet.

At the bottom of the stairs, walking past the entryway, was the Projectionist, alive and well. Back in Level 14, Henry had first tapped into his more demonic ink powers to save Bendy, and he had honestly thought he had broken the monster who had once been Norman. After all, he had let out a strange cry before his light went out, and the he just dropped.

Henry had thought he had killed Nor- no, no, Norman was gone, replaced with this monster copy of him. But still, this thing was once his friend, no matter how much he’d like to forget that.

“How is da Projectionist here?! I saw ya knock out da guy’s light!” Bendy gasped, watching the object head disappear from sight.

“I thought so as well, but death doesn’t seem to really be the end in this place.” He hoped that the voice in the ink hadn’t brought the Projectionist back, Henry would actually feel betrayed by a possible-ally if that happened.

He flexed his fingers, trying to keep a level head about this situation. Well, the Lost Ones did say that monsters were hidden in the park, guess this guy was one of them. “We’re gonna have to be careful, gotta sneak past him, maybe keep behind him as we look for the switch.”

“If he tries anythin’, we can take him! You fought him once, you can do it again!”

“I’d rather not fight, but we’ll see…” Henry quietly began his descent into the ink-filled room, moving to start walking to the left, following after the lightheaded creature.

The inside of the room was rather large and appeared to have two floors. The bottom area was flooded and housed two, large train engines, with smiling faces painted on the front of them.

Near one of them was a crate, with a large pyramid of hearts on top of it. Oh jeez, did the Projectionist make that? Well… it was clear that the hearts in Level 14 had been harvested, so it’s possible he had a hand in that, and this.

The second floor was just a balcony that circled the room, and Henry had a very strong feeling that the switch they needed was up there. But how were they gonna get up there, the stairwell was blocked off by a lift, loaded down with construction equipment. Sure, Henry could send a Bendy clone up there, but who knew if anything was waiting up there, the poor, little toon could get hurt or worse.

“Henry, over there.” Bendy tugged on his pants, getting the creator’s attention. The demon pointed to the wall across the room from them, where they stood by the staircase. The Projectionist was walking towards a switch on the wall, illuminating the writing on it. It was the switch to activate the lift, and that’s what they needed to get upstairs.

“Come on.” Henry trudged through the cold, thick ink, making sure to keep a far enough distant from the Projectionist. He and Bendy got up to the switch and he threw it, hearing the sound of the lift going up.

And then he heard the horrible scream of the projector monster.

“RUN!” Bendy screamed as the light flashed on them, the Projectionist trying to make his way towards them. He seemed to be slightly slower than he had been, probably still recovering himself from being injured by Henry, but the human would worry about that later!

Right now, he needed to get to that switch and then out of this place! But running made his chest burn like it was on fire and he knew that it was slowing him down as well. He made his way to the stairs, seeing Bendy had already gotten up there, the poor demon was leaking so much ink right now, his eye glowing brightly as he motioned for Henry, holding out a hand for him.

The Projectionist screamed again, his light shining on Henry as he moved to get up the stairs. Henry cursed under his breath as he got to the landing, only to get shoved aside by-

“Bendy?!” Henry gasped, seeing that in the blink of an eye, his little creation had taken on his demon form. He looked like he had in the toy factory, a snarl on his face as he looked down the stairwell.

_“Henry, da switch! I’ll distract him!”_ Bendy barked before he threw back his fist, striking the Projectionist with it, just as he got close enough. _“Think of dis as me repayin’ ya fer savin’ me against dis guy!”_

Henry blinked but nodded. “Thanks, kid!” He ran, moving towards the switch. He heard another horrifying scream, followed by a shout of pain from Bendy as the toon was punched in the face, knocking him down.

The artist’s body hurt, feeling like it was in a vice grip as he reached out, pulling down on the handle of the switch just as the Projectionist was about to strike Bendy again.

And then the room went completely black and silent.

There was no light, not even from the Projectionist. Henry stood there, hand still on the handle, it felt like his heart was in his throat as he tried to make sense of what just happened. “B-Bendy?” He asked when he finally found his voice.

 _“Henry…?”_ Bendy called out into the darkness, and the animator could see a faint ring of gold in the pitch-black room. There was shuffling, then wet footsteps, moving closer to Henry. The lights in the room began to slowly return and Henry could see a confused Bendy approaching, his eye glowing. _“He just… he vanished! He was gonna punch me or tear out mah heart, but when it went black, he was just…”_

“Gone, yeah.” Henry frowned as he looked around. “I didn’t hear anythin’, hell, I don’t even see any trace of him. Almost as if he was never here.”

 _“But he was, I punched him right in da face! Well… more like in da side of his box head.”_ Bendy frowned, scratching at his head. _“No matter, if he’s still here, I’m gonna be on mah guard, gonna keep dis form a li’l longer.”_

“Are you sure?”

 _“I’ll be fine, I wanna make sure you’re okay. You looked to be really hurtin’ after all dat runnin’, Henry.”_ Bendy frowned, putting a hand on the other’s shoulder. _“Want me to help ya back down da stairs?”_

Henry smiled a little, nodding. He didn’t feel like protesting or saying that he wasn’t in pain, he was aching up a storm, so a little help was needed. Why even argue, Bendy would know he was lying about it, so might as well just take up the offer.

Bendy smiled a little in return before wrapping an arm around him, putting Henry’s arm over his shoulder. He noticed that he was a bit taller than the old man, not tall like the Other Bendy, but he was taller than Henry, which was kinda funny. Carefully, the imp helped Henry down the steps and back into the ink.

“Hold up, bud,” Henry pointed towards a few crates, “got another tape.”

Approaching it, Henry glared at the name written on it, another Joey Drew tape. Hopefully this one wouldn’t be as lie-filled and cheesy as the previous tape in the demon’s room.

_“I believe there's something special in all of us. With true inner strength, you can conquer even your biggest challenges. You just have to believe in yourself and remain honest, motivated, and above all, who you really are._

_…_

_Ok, let's stop it right there._

_I can only do so many takes of this trash a day._

_And tell the guys in writing I want more use of the word dreaming in every message! Keep railing on that, get it?_

_Dreaming! Dreaming! Dreaming! People just eat up that kind of slop. Hmm what? It's still on?_

_Well, turn it off, damn it!”_

Bendy groaned as Henry let out a rueful chuckle. “Yeah, that’s the Joey Drew I knew and befriended.” The former animator shook his head.

_“Yep, I remember dat attitude of his, jeez. I also remember dat happy persona he put on to trick people into thinkin’ he was a good, honest guy.”_

“He could be at times, but most of the time he was stubborn and selfish.”

 _“How were ya friends wit’ him?”_ Bendy asked, moving away from the tape to get back to the stairs.

Henry gave a little shrug at this. “I dunno, we’ve been friends since we were kids, grew up together. I knew him well, but… I dunno, I guess I didn’t know him well enough.”

The changes to the studio and its staff was the clearest indication that Henry really didn’t know his ex-best friend like he had when they were younger. He knew Joey was a man with strong ambitions, but had one heck of an ego, same with a temper that scared many young workers into putting in so many hours that they rarely left the building at the right closing hour.

Henry remembered days like that all too well, poor Linda would wait up for him and she’d barely get anything out of him before he’d collapse on the couch. Oh, his wife is a saint, putting up with his late hours and exhaustion, he’s so lucky to have her in his life. And speaking of those long hours, he was surprised that he didn’t ruin his wrists and hands from all the animating he had done in just those four years in the studio.

They found themselves standing before the staircase when Bendy let go of Henry, figuring the man could get up the flight of stairs without his help. But when Henry took his first step, a bright light was suddenly on their backs, and a horrible sound echoed in the room.

Looks like the Projectionist was still here!

“Let’s go!” Henry grabbed Bendy’s arm, yanking the lanky demon up the stairs with him as fast as the two of them could run. He grabbed the door to the Little Miracle Station and shoved Bendy inside before joining him, slamming the door shut.

They stared out of the hole cut into the door, seeing that the Projectionist was just standing there. Did he not see them enter? No, he had, as he started to step forward, hand reaching out to open the door…

The pain from earlier, in the archives and the hallway, returned at full-force, and Henry’s vision distorted. There was a loud, metallic bang from out of sight before Bendy and Henry watched in shock as the Ink Demon rushed into view, slamming his fist right into the living projector. It was surreal, the strange distortion of Henry’s vision just seemed to make the fight even more bizarre as he watched them punch one another.

Until the Other Bendy wrapped his hand around the Projection’s throat, lifting him off the ground, squeezing tightly.

Henry’s vision returned to normal just in time for the most unexpected action on the Ink Demon’s part. He tore the Projectionist’s head right off of his body. The former animator stared in silent shock, while Bendy let out a terrified, dying scream as he looked at his counterpart.

The Ink Demon dropped the other’s body, before throwing the projector at the Little Miracle Station, making the two inside jump. He paused, before lowering himself down enough to look at the two of them, his grin seeming to widen, shaking worse than it had earlier.

Oh no, did he know they were there?! Was he going to come for them next.

**‘Can’t have anyone else touching you two…’**

With that, the demon turned, grabbing a hold of the Projectionist’s leg and walked off with him, leaving Bendy and Henry behind. There was a soft pause, before Henry quietly opened the door, stepping out. He looked down the hall, seeing that the metal vault door was now off its hinges, dented. There was a black trail of ink that ended at a curve into a wall.

Behind him, Henry found the Projectionist’s head, spitting out ink from wires where it had been connected to the body. “Norman…” He sighed, shaking his head, before hearing a loud splash, then a wet splat. Turning quickly, the animator for Bendy, back to his normal size, laying in a large puddle of ink, panting hard.

“Bendy, are you alright?!” He dropped down, lifting the demon’s head up.

“I thought we were gonna die! I thought dat da other me was gonna decapitate us both, but he just walked off!” Bendy exclaimed, his eyes wide and almost comical. It was almost funny, but something caught Henry’s attention, something thin and long was moving behind Bendy…

“Bendy, uhh… what is that?”

Turning his head around, Bendy noticed it as well. It moved out of the ink puddle, at least two or three feet long, with the end tipped like a spade. And it seemed to be connected to Bendy’s lower back. “I-Is dat a tail?!”

Henry blinked, staring at it. “Yeah, I think it is! Why do you have that, I mean, you use to have that in your original design, but why do you have it now?”

“I don’t know!” Bendy stood up, looking at the tail as it swished about. “Da… da ink must have done dis, I mean… I think it’s been makin’ changes to da Ink Demon, an’ even you. Don’t tell me dat eye of yours turnin’ black ain’t a change! But why give me a tail? I ain’t complainin’ but dis is a weird feature. Kinda neat though, but still.”

Henry shrugged, watching Bendy lightly toy with the tip, like a cat with string. “Who knows, but I’m gonna be honest about this, I was right about your design bein’ good with a tail. Joey didn’t think so, but I like it.”

Bendy let out a laugh before sighing, looking at the Projectionist’s head. “Why did he not attack us? He knew we were in there.”

“Who? The other you?”

“Yeah, he just… looked at us, then walked off. He did da same thing earlier at da vent…” Bendy frowned as he looked at the inky trail, following it to the wall. “What’s he up to?”

“I dunno, but I know that I am not likin’ his recent behavior. We talked about it earlier, but obviously this is just more proof that there’s somethin’ weird goin’ on with him. He could have jumped us so many times by now, and why did he fight the Projectionist? Did he not want the guy killin’ us?”

“An’ fer dat matter… how did he know we were in here?”

Henry felt a shiver go up his spine. “I… would rather not know the answer to that. We can worry about the other Bendy later, right now we gotta deal with the other Alice.”

“Right, right.” Bendy nodded, following Henry out of the area, past the busted door. That worried Bendy greatly, only a few days ago had the Ink Demon been unable to get through a wooden door, now he could knock a thick, metal door off its hinges? Either he’s getting stronger, or he let Henry and Bendy escape.

But then why had he attacked? Why had he spoken to Bendy in his mind?

Bendy reached behind himself, lightly scratching at the claw marks that had healed up into scars on his skin.

Ink Demon, what is it that you want, what is it that you have planned?

\--

The final switch was pulled by Henry and Bendy pushed down the main power one, hearing noises coming from the Mad House, the gates lifting. Bendy swallowed loudly, a bead of ink dripping down the side of his face, even his tail moved between his legs like a dog’s would. “Ol’ man, I dunno about you, but I feel like somethin’ really bad’s gonna happen once we enter…”

“I know.” Henry replied, the mark on his hand felt cold and wet, he was ready to fight if he needed to. “But we’ll just have to face whatever it is that’s waitin’ for us, we know it’s our only choice. She’s not gonna let us grab Boris and just run, she’s gonna have us deal with an obstacle of some sort.”

“I bet it has to do wit’ Boris…”

“Don’t think like that.” Henry frowned as he took Bendy’s hand, walking with him to the Mad House, hearing a deep laugh come from the speakers for the ride. “Well… let’s do this.”

Bendy loudly gulped as he looked at the little cart that had his face painted on it. It would be really cute it if wasn’t attached to this unholy place. Henry moved to sit down first, with Bendy pressing against his side. Once they were seated, the safety bar for the ride suddenly dropped as the ride began to move, just a very familiar voice spoke to them from the speakers.

**“And now, the ride truly begins, Henry. Come in and pretend it's all just a bad dream.”**

“Henry…” Bendy whispered, gripping his creator’s arm as the cart moved through a set of doors that opened, the image of a skull painted on them. Henry’s mouth felt dry as they entered into a dimly lit pathway, the cart moving along a set track.

The inside was the typical, cheesy design of a basic dark ride, like ones he had seen at fairs. Heh, he took Linda on one when he was younger, she pretended to be scared to cling to him when silly props and people in costumes jumped up.

But this was different, there were real horrors waiting somewhere inside.

 **“It's a funny thing...”** The Other Alice continued, sounding soft, though there was still an edge to her words. **“How so much can fall apart so fast. We never really had control at the studio.”**

Bendy and Henry listened to her monologue as props of ghosts and skeletons popped up from behind cardboard grave markers.

**“Either you were in someone's pocket, or you were putting someone else into yours.”**

The little devil shuddered when he saw a boarded-up area, a sign hung from one of the boards, baring his name. Was that suppose to be meant for him? Was he supposed to be a horror ride attraction for Joey? He really hoped not, he hoped that was just meant for someone in a Bendy costume.

**“I just wanted what was promised to me. I just wanted to be beautiful! Surely you can understand that.”**

Henry perked up when he saw the silhouette of Boris up ahead, only to be disappointed at it just being casted by a Boris plush that sat in front of a lamp.

 ** _“Henry... Why are you here? We're all dying to find out.”_** The fallen angel’s voice sounded so taunting, there was an obvious threat to her words, especially at the dying part. “Do you just enjoy the terror of the drop into hell? Because if that's the case... Hang on tight. I've got a surprise...”

“Here we go…” Henry whispered as the cart pushed through another set of double doors, allowing the duo to enter a whole new area. It was impressive that a giant ballroom was actually built inside the storage room that housed it, and to have it set up like this. Henry and Bendy looked around, seeing scary portraits on the walls, along with the middle, the dance floor, being cluttered with construction equipment and furniture for the room.

Bendy gasped. “Henry, it’s another one of those ink machine things!” He pointed towards the second set of double doors in the room, where the track was leading. Just like in the cavern, there was another small GENT machine.

Henry didn’t like that it was here, there was something very suspicious about it.

He gripped the safety bar a little bit tighter as Bendy kept pressed against him. He felt a bead of sweat slide down the side of his face as the doors opened in front of them, leading to a darkness that was sure hid something dangerous.

Just as the cart started to enter it, something slammed down onto it, stopping it. A pair of yellowed, giant gloved hands gripped the cart tightly as a massive form came into the light behind the two. Bendy screamed and Henry gasped.

“Boris! No, no! What has she done to you!?”

Boris had been completely transformed. His body was massive, and the ink he was made of looked wet and runny. His chest was a gaping hole, where some of his organs could be seen moving. Around his head was a metal contraption, topped with a ring that looked like a mocking halo of sorts. His eyes were X’s, but not like the ones on the other dead clones, no, these seemed almost sewn on.

And in his mouth was the bone the wolf had been carrying around.

“Boris! No, no, nononononooo!” Bendy shouted, inky tears coming to his eyes. “She turned you into a monster!”

Boris just snorted and started to push the cart, before pulling it right off the track. He lifted it with ease, launching it, Bendy, and Henry through the air. They slammed into a wall, shattering the metal contraption. Henry wheezed, the air knocked out of him when he hit the ground, but Bendy got right to his feet as the Other Alice’s laughs echoed in the room.

**“Ha ha ha! Meet the new and improved Boris! I took what I wanted, and in return, I gave him so much more! And this time, _there's no Ink Demon_ , no escape. Boris, tear him apart! Leave nothing!”**

The monstrous Boris roared as he started to stomp towards Bendy and his creator. “H-Henry, we gotta run…!” Bendy shouted as he tried to get Henry to stand. The human coughed hard, a bit of blood coming up as he did.

“We… we need a weapon…” He mumbled, trying to speak after having been suddenly injured like that. He was still healing from Bertrum, he did not need this! Jeez, he’ll never catch a break in this damned studio!

“I don’t wanna hurt Boris!” Bendy whined. Neither did Henry, but he knew that they literally had no other choice. They couldn’t escape if the angel and her new pet were just gonna take them down. They only had the option to fight, as much as it broke Henry’s heart to think this truth.

“We have to… she’s turned him into that.” Henry stood up straight as Boris started to charge, moving just in time to avoid the attack at the brute slammed into a wall. That was too close, they would have been crushed! “We need ink for the machine, maybe it’ll give us a weapon.”

Bendy followed Henry towards it as Boris tried to find them. He whimpered, but stopped, his expression serious. “Henry, get to dat machine, use a Bendy if ya have to, make a weapon. I’ll distract him!”

Henry wanted to protest, but Bendy was already running towards Boris. Shit, alright, guess he was gonna have to do what Bendy said. He got to the device and created a Bendy in his hand. “Forgive me! We need your help!”

The Bendy clone looked at him before giving a nod and a salute, jumping into the bin before Henry went to the gear on the side. He looked through the options and saw an image that looked like a pipe. He set it to that and pulled the crank.

A blob of ink popped out and formed into a GENT pipe. The irony of it did not pass by Henry, it was the same kinda weapon Boris gave him earlier.

Speaking of the wolf, Bendy was currently running away from another charge attack. “Dangit, Boris! Why are ya attackin’ me?! We’re best buds! You know me!” The demon shouted as he looked back at Boris who stumbled, his chest suddenly squirting out sprays of wet and thick ink as he doubled over.

“Henry! He’s down!” Bendy turned, watching as his creator tried to run over to Boris, swinging the weapon. It struck Boris, making the beast roar in pain, but the strike broke the weak metal.

“Shit!” Henry jumped out of the way when Boris tried to swipe at him with a large hand. He moved out of the way of another attack, until he came to a skidding stop when Boris actually leapt over him, slamming into the ground.

The sudden strike knocked Henry off his feet and he landed on his back, grunting. “Oh, he’s gonna fight dirty…” He growled as the ink on his hand bubbled and suddenly exploded, deformed clones of his little devil quickly crawling and spreading up his arm and chest.

He looked over at Bendy as he got to his feet. _“Bendy, forgive me! But I don’t think ordinary weapons are gonna work!”_

Bendy looked unsure but nodded anyway. “You said to use da ink powers in emergencies, an’ I think dis is a big one. Please, end his pain!”

Henry gave a nod before rushing right towards Boris, slamming into the deformed toon. Boris fell back, but was quick to get up, striking Henry with his fist. The human let out a sharp cry as he stumbled back, his arm hurt, having used it as a shield. Jeez, this guy hit harder than Bertrum and Norman did!

But then again, who knows what that crazy angel did to him.

Another fist came his way as Henry grabbed a hold of it with his inky arm, digging his claws in. Boris cried out in pain before doubling over like before, ink splashing out of his gaping chest hole.

Henry took this as his chance as he swung back his other hand, forming a comedic, boxing glove-shaped blob of ink around his fist. He struck the monster hard in his chest wound, knocking the beast of a wolf back. Henry had hit Boris hard enough to make him spit out his bone.

A moment later and the animator found himself skidding across the floor, hitting a couch that remained intact from Boris’ previous rampages. For a big guy, Boris moved fast! Henry was seeing stars as the wolf jumped into the air, slamming down near Bendy, who had been by the first set of doors to the room.

Bendy had been lucky enough to jump out of the way, only tripping over his feet a little by the shockwave. The doors took most of the damage, a good chunk of them had broken off, showing more of the track.

“How much more damage do ya need to do to him?” Bendy asked as he rushed over to Henry, helping him to his feet. “Let me help ya!”

 _“N-no, I don’t want you riskin’ any new changes right now-!”_ Suddenly Bendy’s tail wrapped around his waist, pulling him out of the way of another charge attack from Boris. The couch was destroyed easily, that could have been him if Bendy hadn’t pulled him back. He thanked Bendy as they watched their ‘friend’ come to a stop near the organ in the room.

Boris groaned, turning around to jump at them again, this time aiming too close. Bendy and Henry cried out as they were knocked down, tumbling and rolling over dirt and broken objects.

 _“We… we might be in some serious trouble…”_ Henry grumbled as he rolled over onto his stomach.

Why couldn’t he do what he did against Bertrum and Norman? Sure, he tapped into the ink and he could fight, but he wasn’t fighting like before. Was it because he was fighting Boris? Was it because he was too scared to hurt someone like him? Sure, it hurt to fight the Projectionist, but he had been blinded by rage when the monster version of his old friend had tried to kill Bendy.

But Boris… the guy hadn’t done anything wrong, he was under the Other Alice’s control, he was her monster slave, ordered to kill. He was too scared to hurt him, he was too scared to hurt Wally.

Could he really do it? Could he hurt his friend, or worse, kill him?

He might really have no other choice at this point. Moving to his feet, Henry tried to tap into his anger, his anger at what Boris had been transformed into. His rage towards this fake Alice Angel, for what she did to him, for what she’s done to all the other Boris clones who had been captured by her, for what she’s done to him and Bendy.

He roared and moved fast, his left eye soaked in ink as it ran down his face, but a shine of glowing green could be seen through the dark liquid as his golden eye burned brightly. Boris was caught off guard as Henry socked him right in the face.

Bendy watched as Henry struck the other toon once more, whoa! Is this what Henry did when he fought that Bertie guy!? That’s amazing, he had no idea that his creator had it in him! “Get ‘em, ol’ man! Kick his doggy butt!”

Boris groaned loudly, falling over, clutching his chest as more ink sputtered out on to the floor. Henry panted hard before moving to hit him again, only for Boris to suddenly rise up. He slapped Henry to the floor with his large hand, stomping off as a cart for the ride came in through the hole in the door.

Henry shook his head, uhg, that hurt! He must have really ticked off that brute now… uh oh.

He looked up in time to see Boris lift the cart over his head and launch it right at the human. He didn’t have enough time to move before it crashed into him. Blood and ink came out of Henry’s mouth as he was hit, his ears ringing as he saw white for a moment.

He collapsed against the floor, covered in broken metal, blood, and ink. The deformed Bendys started to dissolve, pooling off him as he laid there, stunned and in serious pain. His body twitching as he gagged and coughed on his own blood.

“HENRY!” Bendy screamed in horror. No, no, no…! How could Boris have done such a thing!? Boris is the sweetest dog in the world, he would never hurt Henry!

This was that angel’s fault!

She did this to him, she turned his best buddy into a monster! She made him hurt Henry!

 ** _“ALICE!”_** Bendy’s form changed in an explosion of ink as he ran on all fours towards Boris. The brute had already grabbed a second cart, ready to slam it down on Henry, one more to finish him off. Considering how in pain Henry was, it was possible this death could be permanent…

This was it, this was probably the end. Sorry Linda, guess he wasn’t gonna be able to come home to her, safe and sound.

And Bendy, oh you sweet devil, Henry will never be able to take him up to the surface.

But it happened so fast, when he thought it was over, it really wasn’t.

Boris stood still, Bendy’s hand was through his chest hole, pushed right through his back and out of it. The demon’s tail was wrapped tightly around Boris’ arms, somehow longer than it already was, just for the purpose of keeping him still in a last-minute action. Bendy’s visible eye was wide as he looked at the face of his damaged wolf friend, he could hear Henry’s breath catch in his throat at the display.

Henry’s vision changed, back to that terrifying nightmare version, as he looked at Boris. But it wasn’t Boris he saw, no, it was…

“Wally…?” He wheezed, his voice barely above a whisper. Standing there, with Bendy’s arm through his chest, was Wally Franks. He looked just a bit older than Henry remembered, but he still had that chubby body, those curly locks. That was his friend from so long ago.

The janitor looked over at Henry, the smile on his lips was weak but honest. Almost… thankful, in a way.

**_“No!!! No! No! No!... Why can't you ever just die?!”_ **

**__ **

The nightmare vision ended abruptly, and Boris pulled himself away from Bendy, leaving the demon’s hand coated in inky blood as the poor toon look on in fear. Henry suddenly realized that the one who just screamed was the Other Alice as he watched Boris collapse.

“B-Boris..! Wally!” He tried to get up, but he found that he couldn’t move. Bendy carefully pulled him up, wincing as he heard Henry groan in pain. The two watched as Boris’ body started to dissolve right before their eyes, before collapsing into a puddle.

There was a silent pause, before Bendy let out a shuddering gasp. _“H-Henry, I killed… I killed..!”_ Globs of inky tears ran down his face as he looked at the puddle of his friend.

“It’s better this way, he’s not sufferin’.” Henry spoke softly. “Wally didn’t seem bothered by it.”

“Wally?” Bendy blinked, before hearing an angered scream, the two turning to see the fake angel suddenly running towards them.

But she stopped, just a foot away from Bendy, as a blade pierced her rib cage. The demonic toon looked at the face of the woman who had tried to kill them, seeing actual fear as she looked at the blade, then at him.

“Help…” She whimpered, just as the weapon was pulled from her back. Henry heard for just a moment, in that word, the voice of Susie, not the Other Alice. He watched as her eye rolled back into her head before she dropped to the floor.

Henry looked at the body, unsure of what to say, until he heard a metallic thumping sound, turning his head to the source. There, standing before them, was another Boris and another Alice, the latter holding the ink coated sword.

Well, can’t say he was expecting this.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Boris, sorry Wally, but you had to die to continue the story.
> 
> Next chapter: Who are these two mysterious strangers, are they friend or foe? And what happens now that the Other Alice seems to be dead, and the Ink Demon is acting strangely?
> 
> But the biggest question of all is will Henry and Bendy actually escape before the changes to them become too much?
> 
> Once more, another big thanks to brandyjin for providing art for this chapter! Not even doing the coloring of my linework, like, it’s actually her art! How cool is that! Check out her stuff on tumblr, under that same name. She does really awesome BATIM art, and does cool fanart for my friend InkSpottie’s aus!
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please comment and kudos! :D I’ll see you guys after Chapter Five is released, unless if you follow me on tumblr, then you’ll see a lot more from me there about this au and the game!


	13. So You Come to the End Now, Alive but Dead inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Bendy seem to have found themselves in the prison of a Boris and an Alice, are they friend or foe?
> 
> And what horrors and secrets hide behind the door out of this little safe-house prison?
> 
> The biggest question at hand, however, is who left the messages for them to find?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.
> 
> Here we are, the final chapters.
> 
> Wow, guys, I just… thank you all so much for helping me get this far. We are so close to the ending, now that Chapter Five has been released. So, allow me to state a few things. 
> 
> One, no, I won’t do everything like the game’s bizarre canon ending. Ignore all the stuff with Joey’s apartment and that nonsense. Yeah, no, we’re not doing that here. I actually have the ending set in mind and it will not work with the time loop theory that seems to pretty much be canon thanks to Henry’s hidden messages.
> 
> Two, this means that the ending will be of my own design, but I will still be going through the majority of the chapter’s content. But the stuff with Beast Bendy (who I adore, fight me, I love Baby Legs Bendy) will be very, VERY different. I have a good chunk of that scene already written months ago, but I’ve updated it to feature a few things from Chapter Five.
> 
> Three, I actually enjoyed the ending of the game, the graphics in Joey’s apartment were amazing, and I like the view finder thingy. I know a lot of people were mad, but remember, Meatly said that he had planned the story out when he did Chapter One, so this story was set up from the beginning. And he also said we’d get more Bendy content in the future, Joey Drew Studios is a reality now, it’s a real studio that Meatly and Mike own. Expect more from this universe from them in the future. And maybe more from me, we’ll see.
> 
> With that said, let’s get on with this.
> 
> Warning: character deaths (but is it ever really a true death in this place?), canon content and major canon divergence with a key element to Chapter Five
> 
> On with the fic!

Henry didn’t know what to think as he laid on the bed in the cell he had been placed in. He didn’t know how long he had been here, but his chest didn’t hurt like it did when he was brought in. Honestly, that was a huge plus, considering he had been crushed with a spook house cart thrown by the reanimated corpse of a dear friend.

He’ll never be able to live that down, almost killed by a cart with a cartoon smile painted on it.

Beautiful, what a death that would have been. At least he lived, that was too close, Henry had to stop pushing his luck in this place, he didn’t know what that voice in the ink would stop sending him back.

He assumed it had to be two days later since the fight, at least from what he and Bendy guessed. Time just made less and less sense the further into the studio they went. Speaking of Bendy, his little demon was curled up on an old, dusty mat on the floor, a makeshift bed for him from the angel.

The angel and her attack dog… they were very different from their counterparts, that’s for sure.

The Boris clone never said a word, but he had the coldest stare Henry’s ever seen, he looked ready to kill the guy when they were forced to the hideout. Henry couldn’t get a read on him, it was so hard to tell with a cartoon wolf, damnit, he should have designed Boris to be easier to animate with expressions.

The other, the angel, she was strange, but in a good way, kind of. She had told Bendy to carry Henry with them, sure, they were now prisoners, but she offered to allow Henry to rest and heal. She had even checked on him in the cell after Bendy had set him down. Henry didn’t know what happened after that, he passed out from the pain he was in, but he had woken up sometime later to Bendy quietly telling him that she had left.

The Boris was sitting out in the other room, Henry heard him tapping his metal fingers on something. He couldn’t move to see the angry toon, but he assumed he was tapping his fingers on a weapon of some sort.

Bendy explained that the angel had done her best to clean the animator up before leaving them be. She even gave Bendy some soup, but… he didn’t feel like eating it, not after what had happened. The human didn’t blame Bendy for being upset, that was an ordeal neither wanted to experience again, hell, they didn’t even want to do it at the time! But what choice did they have?

He still couldn’t believe it, Boris… oh God, Boris was gone now, and so was Wally. At least the janitor wasn’t suffering, he was happy to know that, but it hurt. Bendy was obviously affected by having been the one to kill Boris, but he refused to speak about it with his creator. He had to killed his best buddy and Henry understood that Bendy wasn’t going to be well after what he done.

Didn’t help either of them that they had witnessed the death of the Other Alice, Susie, just moments after Boris’ own. At the hands of another Alice Angel, what are the odds? She was a monster to them both, especially after what happened to their friend, but that look on her face, that quiet plea for help… it just reminded Henry that even under all that ink, all that mental and emotional damage, Susie had still been in there.

It’s been a day or so since Henry last woke up, after Bendy had talked to him a little about their captors and told him to rest. He had awoken to the soft humming of someone and carefully, Henry rose to look out the blocked door to see who it was.

“I know that song…” He said softly, but loud enough to catch her attention. Of course he knew that tune, it was Bendy’s signature whistle from the show. It was a song he used to whistle all the time while he worked, an unconscious action. It was the song that played when the projector in the theater on the first floor activated on its own. And what he heard during one of his earlier encounters with the Other Bendy.

It was a signature of the studio, and one that Henry wasn’t sure if he liked much anymore.

The angel was across the room, seeming to be painting on a wall with ink. She paused and looked over at him, her expression was hard to read. “Everyone knows that song.” She frowned as she looked at Henry. “Who are you? Why are you here? And why do you have that… Bendy with you?”

Henry sighed, resting his folded arms on the board in front of him. “I was invited by an old friend, and now I can’t leave. Bendy’s with me because he’s my friend and I made a promise to him. We’re trying to find our way out of here, but we’re also trying to find Joey Drew, he’s somewhere here.”

She let out an almost-amused scoff. “Then you know more than we do.” She turned back to the drawings in front of her. “One minute we don’t even exist. Just… thoughts. And the next minute, this place.”

“Are you gonna let us outta here?”

“Down here… strangers aren’t a good thing. How can we trust you? We don’t even know what you are.”

That startled Henry for a moment, wasn’t he human in their eyes? Did… people down here see him as something else? How do they view one another, they appear as monsters, toons, and human-like toons in his eyes. Even Bendy sees like he does, then again… they both share a similar trait of an unusual eye that sees the world differently. And maybe, he wasn’t as human as he thought, he had demonic ink in his system, from what he could tell. Didn’t help him that when they saw him and Bendy, his friend was in his more demonic form…

He swallowed, trying to put on a brave face. “My name is Henry… I use to work here.” He admitted.

There was a pause from the angel, she seemed hesitant. “I… I honestly don’t know my name. So, they call me Alice, but I am no angel. You go back and rest, we’ll talk later.”

Henry didn’t want to rest, he wanted to talk more. But he knew it was pointless, and he did still need to recover. That was a nasty fight and his body still ached in placed. He quietly returned to the cot and laid down on it, looking up at the old, wooden ceiling. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled something out, a silver ring band.

He stared at it in the dull, yellow lights of the safe house. How long has it been since he’s seen his wife, how long has it been since he got here? He wondered if Linda was looking for him, he prayed she didn’t come here, he didn’t want her in this hellhole either.

He slipped on his ring before looking over at Bendy, seeing the little toon’s new tail flicking back and forth as he slept. Henry smiled softly, reaching out to pet Bendy’s head, hearing a pleased hum from the demon.

Henry frowned when he noticed that Bendy felt kinda damp, removing his hand to see a few smears of ink. Was Bendy alright? Maybe it was from the stress that the poor demon’s ink was running.

‘Don’t worry,’ He thought, ‘we’ll get out of here soon, buddy.’

\--

_“If anyone finds this, my name's Henry.”_

_“An’ I’m Bendy.”_

_“And we’ve been trapped far below Joey Drew Studios, a man I used to work for, and a man who had taken ownership of my friend. There's crazy things after us down here.”_

_“Monsters. Demons. Angels. An’ right now two of ‘em are holding us prisoner.”_

_“I don't know how to get out of here, but there's more. There's a hidden secret hiding in the shadows. I just felt like I'm being watched. There's something more in here.”_

_“If anyone finds this, you must not-” … “Uh no.”_

_“Hold on.” … “They're coming back.”_

\--

He shifted about in the safe house, it was quiet as a grave, and the lights were off. It was nearly pitch black but the but the faint glow from his eyes saw fine in the dark as he stood in the middle of the room, seeming to be looking around.

Reaching up, he touched at the leaking ink under his eye and dampened the tips of his fingers. He could see it, faintly, the glowing ink that only certain individuals could see in this place. He heard the soft sounds from the sleeping forms in the room, knowing that none of them were awake.

With a small nod, he got to work, who knew when anyone was going to wake up, he didn’t have much time. He almost got caught earlier, when he had heard the wolf get up. Didn’t need to be caught, this was important work and he couldn’t do it like he wanted to. No, too many factors were keeping him from completing this the way he wanted to do it, the easier way, he was going to be drained later.

But the job must be done, it will help later in getting them further along in their quest to the end of the studio.

Should have done this earlier, but he didn’t know if anyone was going to see these, still, whatever helps…

\--

Peeking through the wired fencing of the cell, Henry and Bendy quietly looked away from their drawings to see Alice and the Boris clone speaking to one another. Originally, they had been quiet, but her voice went up a bit as she tried to explain to him that she’d only be gone for a few hours, just up to level Six.

The wolf actually looked concerned as he stared at her silently. She smiled and told him to stay to watch Henry and Bendy. She then gave him a kiss on the nose before departing. Boris watched her leave as the door closed before he turned, glowering at the duo.

He picked up his axe and moved to sit in a chair, where Bendy and Henry saw him watching them. He was going to silently guard them and that had the two worried, so they decided to just… do their best to ignore him and return to drawing.

\--

_“It's me, it's Henry.”_

_“An’ Bendy. It's been a while since we last recorded. Mostly we’ve been spendin’ our time doodlin’, passin’ da times, as best as we can.”_

_“I heard our captors arguin’ today. It seems that they still don't know what to make us. I guess that makes sense. Because I do not know what to make of them either.”_

_“Times like dis I wish Boris was still with us...”_

_“He didn't say much, Boris, but...he was a good friend to have. I miss him.”_

_“Me too… he was a best buddy to da very end.”_

_“I just couldn't save him... But I promise... I will get us out of the studio, if it's the last thing I do...”_

\--

“Henry?”

Alice’s quiet voice caught the animator’s attention away from the sketch of Bendy he had been doing, the real demon was snoring away on the cot. He turned and stood, looking at the good angel through the slot in the door. He found that she had two bowls of soup on the ledge, an apologetic smile was on her face. “Here, you two must be hungry.”

The smile fell into a frown. “Sorry. It’s… all we have.” She turned, walking off to another section of the room, out of sight as the Boris approached. He slammed his mechanical arm down on the ledge and glared at Henry. In a quick motion, he knocked the bowls off before pointing at the human, as if to say ‘stop trying to get close to her’.

“Excuse you.” Henry snipped. “I wasn’t doin’ anythin’, she just offered me some food.”

There was an actual growl from the wolf man and Alice came from around the corner, catching both their attentions. “Tom! Jeez, stop giving him a hard time, I made us all food, you had no need to do that. I’m fine, you’re fine, they can’t do anything to us behind those boards.”

Tom, Henry guessed, snorted and pointed a finger at Henry before pointing towards Bendy as the now-awake demon approached. Alice frowned, shaking her head. “Bendy told me he’s not the Ink Demon, and we both know that, you saw him yourself not too long ago after we got these two here.”

They stared at one another before Tom sighed loudly, patting her on the shoulder with his gloved hand, before heading for the door. Alice watched him leave before looking at the two captives. “I’m sorry, he’s just… on edge, a lot is happening here and you two seem to be involved.”

“It’s alright, miss.” Bendy spoke up. “Totally understand, I’d be da same if we switched places.”

Alice looked at him, smiling a little. “You remind me of something… from the past, but I don’t know. Anyway, I’ll get you two some new bowls, sorry.”

\--

“I know you’re watching me.” Alice spoke up as she continued to draw on the walls. “It’s just… a little creepy.”

Henry couldn’t help it, this caught his attention, as well as Bendy’s. “Sorry. It’s just… you’re doin’ somethin’ interestin’ over there, miss Alice.” Bendy spoke as he watched her paint something in ink.

Alice chuckled at this. “I suppose so, still though.”

“You’re the one that writes on the walls.” Henry stated, raising an eyebrow.

“We all do.” She replied. “For some poor souls down there, it’s the only way they can be heard. But you don’t want to touch the ink for too long, it’ll claim you… pull you back.”

Bendy gulped, looking up at Henry, who didn’t look like he wanted to let that statement sink in. He’s already on edge enough as it is about what the ink in his veins is doing to him. The little devil watched as Henry’s unconsciously flexed his fingers on his right hand.

But that last part reminded Bendy of what the Other Alice had said, that she didn’t want to go back to the Puddles, that it seems his counterpart dragged her into them. Guess that’s where you go if you spend too much time in the ink. Luckily, Henry didn’t seem bothered by it, nor had the Projectionist or Bendy himself.

Still, that’s something he should worry about, just in case.

“Still, that’s how I met Tom.” Alice added on as she dipped her paint brush into a bucket of ink.

“I was messing with things I shouldn’t have been, and he… he was there.” She looked back at them and Henry swore he saw her cheeks darken with a blush.

“Why do you call him ‘Tom’?” Henry asked, actually, Bendy had been curious of that as well.

Alice gave a shrug. “He just seems to respond to it.”

“Well,” Henry sighed softly, “I don’t think he’s very fond of Bendy and I, especially me.”

She smiled a little before blinking and reaching for something into her side pouch. “Tom’s not here… I can show you something I found.” She pulled out a yellowed slip of paper and approached them. “This note… I found it during my last trip out, it was left in the Bendy Land area, right in plain sight.”

She placed the paper down on the board, letting Henry take it. “It’s strange, there was ink splattered everywhere around it, but it didn’t look like there had been a fight. I think it was just set up to get someone’s attention. But that note is clearly addressed to you two.”

Henry looked at the paper, one side had his and Bendy’s names written on it, in messy, inky writing. The other side had a message.

_Left eye, right eye, combined together lets you see what neither could see before._

“Do you have any idea what that means?” Alice asked, curiosity was clear as day on her face.

“I think… the message wants Bendy and I to see somethin’ with only our odd eyes open. Listen, these eyes of ours are strange and have some sort of connection to the ink. For one thing, if I keep it open when I go to the Dark Puddles, I can see through them, and Bendy, sometimes, has the ability to see where the Ink Demon is if he keeps his left eye open.”

Alice blinked, staring down at the imp. “Where is he?”

“Hold on.” Bendy covered his right eye, his yellow eye glancing about. “He’s… up in… he’s up in da music hall, it looks like he’s just walkin’ around.”

“Then Tom’s okay…” She mumbled quietly to herself. “Well, what happens if you both have only those eyes open at the same time?”

“We’ve never tried it, but da message seems to want us to give it a go. Henry?” Bendy asked, looking up at his creator, still keeping his left eye open. Reaching up, Henry covered his own left eye, leaving the right open.

And what they saw was shocking.

Above Alice’s head was golden halo of light. “Are… are you seein’ what I’m seein’, Henry?” Bendy stammered.

“I am.” Henry replied before looking around the door. He could see drawings on the walls in this golden light, even their own drawings seemed to have been traced over in gold! There was even a nice little message, telling them ‘you draw beautifully’.

“What do you see?” Alice asked.

“We can see hidden messages! All over the walls.” Henry gasped, seeing stars on the ceiling. “What is all this? Who left these here?”

“Probably whoever left the note.” She said, looking at the paper. “Someone wants you to know of the things they hidden for you. You two really are something.”

“So we’ve been told.” Bendy chuckled. “I wonder if whoever left da messages is tryin’ to tell us how to get out.”

Alice’s face fell at this. “It’s possible… but it seems they only want you two to get out of the studio. I… I don’t think I’m meant to leave this place, but you two are.”

“Alice…” Henry frowned as he dropped his hand, looking at her with both eyes. “Please let us out of here.”

“Tom thinks you’re dangerous.” She said after a moment of silence.

Bendy looked up at her with concern written all over his face. “An’ what do you think?”

Alice looked down in thought before looking at Henry, making eye contact. “I… I think… I think you’re the hope I’ve been waiting for.”

\--

“That was really stupid, Tom!” Alice’s voice alerted Bendy as he peeked through the metal fencing. Henry seemed to still be asleep, and from what Bendy could guess, it was late and Tom just got back after his little ‘soup’ mishap. How many hours ago was that? Probably not too long, these guys didn’t stay gone for more than six hours from what he could tell.

He watched as Alice worked on repairing something on Tom’s mechanical arm. “You shouldn’t have gone out there! Now that he’s seen you…”

She grunted, trying to screw a bolt in tighter as Tom quietly listened to her lecture. “It’s only a matter of time before he finds us here.” She concluded before stopping to glance at Bendy, seeing him staring. She smiled and offered him a little wave, which he happily returned.

Until Tom snapped his head back to glare at Alice, making her stop and drop her smile, before looking at Bendy. The demon’s own grin vanished at the cold stare. Alice quickly returned to repairing the damaged arm while Tom kept his eyes focused on Bendy, who turned to go back to sleep.

\--

_“This may be my last chance to record a message, I'm pretty sure he saw me talkin’ into this thing, He probably won't let me keep it._

_Not much left to say except...Linda, I miss you and I love you so much._

_Comin’ back to this old place well...it kind of reminds me of how much I've gained. I feel like there's so many questions that need answerin’, so many things that don't make any sense._

_If anyone hears this, if you make it out, don't ever return, because the Ink Demon **will** find you.”_

\--

It’s almost time, he was close, just a few more messages and then things can take a new turn. And they better, he’s running out of time.

\--

Henry gasped loudly, the hard feeling in his chest, of his heart beating wrong, was suddenly back. “Henry!” He heard Bendy gasp, rushing to his side to help him. Opening his eyes, Henry was shocked to see the edges of his vision becoming stained with moving ink, it was as if the Ink Demon’s trails were on his eyes now!

“W-What’s goin’ on?” Henry whispered, looking at his scared friend. He tried his best to ignore the ink, this better just be a temporary feature, he didn’t need anymore problems with this ink in his veins.

“Da Ink Demon, he’s close… I can feel him…” The animator noticed that Bendy’s eye was now black, as it always became with the Other Bendy was getting close. So maybe this new eye problem was like Bendy’s. He also took notice that Bendy was dripping globs of ink off his body, and that had him even more worried.

“We can’t just leave them here, Tom!” Alice’s voice altered the two to the angel and wolf approaching the door to their cell. “Not with the Ink Demon right outside the door!”

Henry and Bendy looked at one another before getting up, approaching the other two. Alice turned and stared at them, her eyes wide as the sound of ink moving through pipes around them got louder. “He’s coming! We have to move on!”

There was a sudden bang from above, from in the vents, and Henry felt the ink mark on his hand get wet.

Alice looked up in fear before looking at Tom. “Tom! We have to let them out!” She shouted before trying to pry the boards off the door. Tom looked conflicted before resting his hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. She looked at him before stepping back, staring at Henry and Bendy. “I’m sorry…”

With that, she ran for the door. The wolf stared at the two quietly for a moment before following after her, leaving them behind.

“Henry… what do we do?” Bendy asked. “Do we break down da door?”

“I don’t know, we need to find something. I mean, we can use our powers, but what if that gets his attention? We don’t know what alerts him to us anymore.” Henry replied as he rubbed at his eyes, nope, ink wasn’t going away.

“There’s gotta be somethin’ around here!” Bendy frowned, before asking Henry to cover his eye like before. When they both did, they found more messages written around the room, including one telling them to pull down on a spoon that hung from the wall.

Doing so opened the hidden bathroom, something they had found very early on in their stay here. There was a message written in here as well, telling them to take the pipe as it pointed to the toilet. Henry removed the lid from the back, surprised to find a pipe like the one that Boris had been holding back up in the upper levels.

“Think this will do?” Henry asked has he heard more and more ink flowing in the pipes. “Whatever, let’s go.” He moved to the door and started to break the boards, they had to get going, his vision was pretty much becoming tunneled by this new problem.

Once they were out of the way, he grabbed Bendy’s hand and pulled him along, out of the room and down the corridor that Alice and Tom had taken. A Searcher popped up, but Bendy punched it to take care of it in one go, doing the same to another one that decided to show its face.

Henry took care of the third one that came out of the inky area that required them to cross over wooden boards. Once that was over, Henry and Bendy found themselves in a whole new area. It was another cavern, but this one didn’t have wooden paths or a bottomless pit. No, it was flooded, leading into a tunnel, and there were two docks that led into the ink. One was occupied by a boat, the other wasn’t, and Henry and Bendy got there in time to see Alice and Tom entering the darkness of the tunnel.

“Looks like we’re gonna take a li’l trip in da ink.” Bendy commented. “Do ya know how to work a boat?”

“Kind of.” Henry commented, putting Bendy into the boat before he moved over to a switch. He pulled it, making the boat drop closer to the ink, before doing it once more to get it into it. Quickly, he jumped board and went to the controls, looking at them. Seems simple enough, it was an electric paddle boat, he’s ridden in one of these on a family trip before.

He looked at the controls, pushing a button to start it up, and then pushing up a switch to make it go. Bendy yelped when the boated jerked forward, starting to sail down the river of ink. “Can’t say I was expectin’ dis kinda thing to be down here.” Bendy commented, looking at the ink. “I wonder if any of dis was from after I went into da machine cause I sure as sugar would remember a big ol’ ink river down here!”

“You’re tellin’ me. Man, makes me nostalgic for the old days where the studio was only about three floors down, not… I have no idea, I forgot to ask Alice.”

They quietly moved down the tunnel before coming to an opening. They saw a fork in the path, to the left was more of the river and another tunnel, to the right was the ship the other two had taken, docked near a door. As Henry turned to go to the right, the boat suddenly came to a stop. “Uhg, somethin’ must be caught in the paddlewheel.”

“Looks like chunky ink.” Bendy pointed out as Henry turned to take a look, only to hear a loud splash behind him. They both turned and stared in shock at the sight of a giant, gloved hand rising out of the ink. It latched onto the second boat and started to drag it down into the dark fluid.

“Oh sugar honey ice tea!” Bendy shouted before he was pushed to the controls.

“When I clean off the paddles, throw the switch! We gotta move!” Henry stated as she swiped at the lumps of ink. Once he got rid of the last one, the boat moved and Henry clung on, not wanting to fall in as he heard the hand moving about in the ink.

Bendy yelped as he glanced back as they entered the tunnel to the left. He could see the hand rise up from where they had just been. “Good lord ‘n butter, what is dat thing!?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t wanna find out! Let’s keep goin’!”

The boat continued to sail through the ink, stopping only when the ink got too thick and Henry had to quickly clean it up. Too close has the giant hand gotten to them, Henry swore it brush his hair as it had tried to swipe at him at one point.

This whole ride was nerve wracking for the both of them as they continued down the ink river, until finally they came upon yet another cavern, and a massive one at that. This one was different from anything they had seen before, it had a shanty town inside of it!

A Lost One stared down at them from above a rickety structure, a fishing pole in their hands as they watched them silently. “What… what is this place?” Henry mumbled aloud as they docked. He was thankful that the ink was completely gone from his vision, they must be far away from the Ink Demon now. Looks like Bendy’s eye was normal again, they were safe.

For now.

“I dunno, maybe dis is where some of da people here are livin’?” Bendy asked as he got onto the docks, helping Henry up. “But why weren’t Alice an’ Tom wit’ ‘em here?”

“…” Henry looked around, not seeing a single soul, but the question did make him curious. Shouldn’t Tom and Alice be here with these guys to be safe? Then again… the last time Henry had seen a lot of Lost Ones, they were in a room with **NO ANGELS** written on the wall. Guess they didn’t like angels of any kind here.

Plus, he had a sneaking suspicion that they might, well… they might worship the Ink Demon and/or Bendy, cause of what he had seen in the library. Yeesh.

The duo moved towards the little town, the wooden boards they walked on breaking behind them. Well, there goes their chance to get back to the boat. Doing a quick scan, they checked for anymore hidden messages, finding a few, including an ominous one that stated **YOU BRING DEATH**. Henry was curious as to who was leaving these for them, was it the Voice from the Puddles? It’s possible, but Henry wasn’t sure, not until he found more clues.

“Maybe we go through there?” Bendy asked, pointing to the building at the far end, where a sign hung above the boarded-up entrance stating **NOT MONSTERS** in black lettering. Henry nodded, quietly approaching, taking note of the papers taped to walls, covered in handprints with various degrees of fingers.

More of those handprints coated the area around the entrance way and Henry felt a cold chill run down his back as they got a bit closer.

Suddenly he saw the glint of an axe blade, and Henry shoved Bendy aside as the blade broke through the boards.

 _“BETRAYED! ABANDONED!”_ Someone from the darkness in the blocked off area screamed, in a voice that sounded familiar, but sounded so wrong.

Bendy yelped as he landed on the ground, only to be kept pinned down by inky hands that rose up from the ground under him, clutching to his arms and legs.

“Bendy!” The animator exclaimed before the blade of the axe came down again, breaking more boards. The man holding the axe made Henry’s throat dry and his blood run cold. Stepping through the wreckage of the boards was none other than Sammy Lawrence, still in his Bendy mask, and with a slightly different appearance to his inky body.

 _“I trusted you!”_ Sammy shouted, clutching the axe tightly in one hand. _“I gave you everything!”_

“S-Sammy..?!” Henry moved back as the musician came rushing towards him. “Sammy, how are you alive!?”

The question went unnoticed by the other as he swung at Henry. _“You left me to rot! Why… WHY?!”_

Henry moved fast, clutching the pipe tightly as ink coated it, using it to strike Sammy. This didn’t seem to bother the man one bit as he tried to hit Henry once more. The animator threw up his arm, blocking the attack with an inky shield. He winced as he felt the slightest brush of the sharp axe against his skin, only to see a splash of red in the ink, before it was absorbed by it.

He quickly raised his leg and kicked Sammy in the stomach, giving him a moment to back away to help Bendy. _“Come here and put your face in my axe!”_ Sammy shouted as he ran towards the human, preventing Henry from getting to Bendy as he had to defend himself once more. Henry kicked at him again, tripping the musician, giving him an opening to get away.

“H-Henry…!” Bendy shouted in fear, trying to fight against the hands, but found that the more he struggled, the stronger the holds were. He also took notice that he seemed to be sinking into the puddle under him. “Henry! Help me!”

The animator saw what was happening to Bendy, wanting to run over to him, but Sammy jumped in his way, trying to hit him with the axe head again. “Damnit, Sammy! What is going on!? Get away from me and let Bendy go!”

 _“No!”_ The other took another swing and Henry just barely dodged it, he would have lost his nose if that had gotten close enough! _“I will wipe that smile right off your face!”_

This had Henry confused, smile? What the hell, he was very much not smiling right now! How out of it was Sammy? Did he see Henry as the Ink Demon or something!? Probably didn’t help that the ink from his hand was spreading over his body now to protect him.

“Leave me alone!” Henry struck the musician in the head, sending his mask skidding across the ground. Sammy was quick to cover his face, backing away from Henry.

 _“No, no! Don’t look at me…! Stay away!”_ He shuddered, trying his best to hide his face.

Henry panted, letting the ink return to his hand as he looked over at Bendy, who was still pinned down, struggling to get out of the hold. As Henry turned away to get back to him, he was suddenly grabbed, the pipe slapped out of his grip. He was now looking into the terrifying face of Sammy Lawrence, it was like looking at a skull coated in thick ink.

 _“Ah! You lied to me!”_ Sammy hissed, his grip on Henry’s shoulders was like iron. _“You said I’d be free!”_

He suddenly lifted Henry up by the scruff of his shirt, right off the ground. How strong was this man!? “Sammy, let me go..!” Henry was suddenly thrown to the ground, the air knocked out of him for a moment as Sammy stepped over him, lifting up his axe.

 _“Well, I’m going to free you now!”_ Sammy replied as he got himself ready to swing. Just out of the corner of Henry’s eyes, he saw someone approaching carefully. Was that… Tom? _“Free your head, right off your shoulders! Sheep, sheep, sheep, it’s time for… sleep!”_

Just as he raised his axe, Tom slammed his own right into the side of Sammy’s head. The inky man gasped, gagging for a moment before tipping over and falling down to the ground, right next to Henry. The human shuddered, trying to get a grip on the situation before he looked up at Tom.

The wolf was staring at him, removing the axe from Sammy’s head. He looked at Henry once more before holding out the weapon, his expression seeming to soften slightly. “Tom…?” Henry blinked, reaching up to take the axe before the wolf toon helped him to his feet, giving him a light pat on the back.

“Thank you.” He replied, Tom just nodded before looking to see Sammy dissolve into a puddle by their feet.

He turned to see Alice slicing the last hand that had held Bendy down, a Searcher puddle vanishing as Bendy jumped away from it. “That was close. You’re lucky that we were in the neighborhood!” The angel smiled at them, shaking ink off of her sword.

“Yeah, haha, thanks guys. If ya hadn’t gotten here in time…” Bendy gulped loudly, looking at Henry. “I’d be down a friend…”

Suddenly the room began to shake, making the four look around in worry. What the heck was happening now!?

“Was that him?” Henry asked, knowing that the others knew who he meant.

“I don’t think so.” Alice blinked, looking around the area from where she stood. “Those ink beings,” ‘Searchers’ Bendy stated, “right, Searchers, and the Lost Ones built this place. Sammy must have been keeping them at bay. And now that he’s gone-”

Henry saw movement out of the corner of his eyes, coming from the buildings around them. “Looks like we’re in for a fight! Get ready!” Alice stated as Tom picked up the fallen axe from Sammy.

The familiar sounds of splashing and moaning from Searchers was loud in the room as they popped up from the ground, ready to fight. Lost Ones started to come out from hiding, holding weapons of their own.

 _“Watch out!”_ Bendy shouted as his form changed, startling not only the monsters, but their new allies as well. _“Don’t worry, I ain’t him, you’ve seen me like dis before.”_ He assured the angel and wolf. They looked hesitant until Henry gave them a nod.

Besides, they had bigger things to worry about, like the massive swarm of ink monsters that want them dead!

Henry swung the axe, slicing the head right off a Searcher as he heard the Lost Ones scream and shout in anger, about how he and Bendy had betrayed them! They were with the enemy, an angel! She will bring them only pain and suffering!

Bendy snarled and tore through a few that got too close to Alice, deciding that he was gonna help them out and prove that he wasn’t a threat to them. He never hurt allies and friends, Henry was a clear example of that.

“There’s too many!” Henry growled as he swung his axe over and over, they started to swarm him, getting to close. He felt a hard object strike the side of his head and a sickening crunch before he found himself laying on something cold, wet, and moving.

There were loud whispers all around him and he felt a presence with him. Oh no… he died again.

 **Didn’t expect to see you back so soon, friend.** The smug sound of the Voice didn’t help Henry feel any better about all of this.

 _Am I officially dead or can I return?_ He asked, opening his right eye to look around. He could see the light that let him know he could leave. _Well, that answers that._

**Ah, hold on. Before you leave and return to battle, I must ask that you keep your eye open for anymore messages. They’ll be of great use to you. Took a lot of work to get them in places for you to find, especially in that cell.**

_Wait… you left the messages!?_

**I never said I did, hehe. Now go, your little friend is freaking out.**

Henry huffed and ran down the ink tunnel, going right into the light. He was forced out of the ink by a Bendy statue, rolling across the ground until he landed near the other three. “Henry! You’re alive!?” Alice’s voice caught his attention and he looked up, seeing her run over to him.

Tom was fighting off a Lost One that was trying to take his axe, while Bendy was screeching and tearing ink monsters apart with his claws and tail. “Bendy!” Henry shouted, catching the demon’s attention.

Bendy turned, seeing his creator, before grinning. _“You’re okay!”_ He happily exclaimed before turning and socking a Lost One right in the jaw.

“We saw you die! You were struck in the head before a Searcher pulled you into a puddle!” Alice explained as she sliced at one of the beings as Henry moved to join into the battle, surprised to find that he still had the axe.

“Yeah, well, for some reason I can’t seem to die easily here!” Henry replied as he shoved away a Searcher in a hat. “I end up in the Puddles and then get kicked out, but I try not to push my luck.”

“Noted.”

The fight continued one for a few moments until Bendy pounced on one last Searcher, making it splatter on the ground. He panted and stood up, his body changing in a loud splashing of ink, spreading across the ground. He shook himself off and turned to the group, looking like his normal self.

“I think that was the last of them.” Alice panted softly. “But you never know where they’re going to crawl out of next.” She started to walk on towards an area near where Sammy had come out of.

She sliced through a locked off gate, breaking the lock, before looking at the three behind her. “Probably best we stay together from now on. Henry? Think you can lead the way?”

He gave a shrug. “Sure, I suppose.” He moved to the front of the line, with Bendy right behind him, grabbing the sleeve of the mechanic’s jump suit he continued to wear.

He stopped at a blocked of doorway, slicing through the boards, before finding a hallway that was missing its floor. There was a bridge made of wooden boards that went across the dark pit and Henry had a sinking feeling this wasn’t going to end well.

Henry took Bendy’s hand as he started to walk across the boards, getting to the second one before he heard it crack and then he was falling. Alice screamed his name as the duo fell into darkness.

Well, so much for staying together.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! It’s not easy having to watch a play through to get all the dialogue and stuff, jeez! So many conversations between Alice and Henry, which I had to change up for the sake of this story.
> 
> And as for the messages and viewing tool, I had to change that up because there are no loops in this story. Henry and Bendy have very unique eyes between them and seeing as I already allowed them to see what they couldn’t see before, this was easy enough to change into the story. Also, I’m vague on what a lot of the messages say cause they’re Henry’s commentary to himself, so I decided to keep them up to interpretation for the readers.
> 
> Also, I edited this bit in just today, but I couldn’t pass up on what the mobile version of the game does when Ink Demon is close! You get the border of ink around the screen and I thought, hey! That would be awesome for Henry to deal with! Silly, I know, but I thought it was cool.
> 
> Anyway, again, sorry about the wait! Now it’s time for thank you’s for the art this chapter. 
> 
> Once again, we have amazing art by the always-fabulous brandyjin, coming in with that awesome Sammy fight drawing! And another lovely piece by my amazing friend, thedobermutt, who drew another tense scene for the story! Thank you so much for the art once more, I am loving your contributions, you two! You add a lot more pizazz to my silly fanfic. :D
> 
> Next chapter: Another fall and somehow they both survived, but now they’re weaponless and stuck in an area full of offices and deformed toons. What will they find, and what is it that the Ink Demon has that they need for all of this?
> 
> And to add to all of this, there is something… strange going on with Bendy and what he remembers of the studio.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to comment and kudos~!
> 
> AND SEND LOVE TO THE ARTISTS! They're on tumblr under the names I've listed, check out their other works, give them some reblogs!!!


	14. Darkness Reigns Incarnate at the Heart of this Machine. Just How Deep this Ink Well Goes is Remaining to be Seen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After surviving the fall, Bendy and Henry find themselves in a totally different part of the studio, one that seems to bring back memories for Bendy, and some for Henry as well when he finds an old office he knew from long ago.
> 
> After that, they discover where the Ink Demon is hiding, but… what will happen when they enter?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter fourteen, and boy howdy is this gonna be a big one! It’s mostly Bendy and Henry centered, but don’t worry, we’ll be seeing Allison and Tom again. And… a few other characters, but you won’t see them until later.
> 
> Also, I’m sure you can guess that this isn’t the last chapter, but we’re so close! Just one more!
> 
> Once again, we have another amazing piece of art added to the story by brandyjin! Thank you so much for doing the art for that scene! And we have a new artist to the mix, my friend InkSpottie (you might know her from Monochrome Madness haha), she contributed to this chapter as well! Thank you again for doing this, and for letting me do some art for your fanfic as well! :D Go check out their stuff, you guys! 
> 
> On with the fic!

A split-second decision is what saved Henry and Bendy from the fall. The former activated his mark and a wall of thick ink exploded from his hand and covered his arm just moments before they hit the thin ink under them. Henry groaned in pain as he sat up, feeling the ink go back into his mark or drop into the ink. Ouch, landed right on the funny bone… just his luck.

“Henry!” He faintly heard Alice’s voice from above, he couldn’t even see up the hole, it was too dark.

“We’re okay! Come find a way to get to us, we’ll be down here!” He shouted up at her.

“Okay, stay out of trouble!” She called back and Bendy snorted loudly as he shook off ink, mumbling something about that being easier said than done.

Henry looked up again and sighed. “Looks like we’re gonna have to figure out how to get around… wherever we are.” He had Bendy cover his eye to take a look around for any more hidden messages. They found only one on the wall, telling them to find something in a vault.

“A vault?” Bendy frowned, scratching his head in thought. “What kinda vault would be in…” He gasped, snapping his fingers before looking at Henry. “Da film vault! Joey would put all da films in there along wit’ things dat were expensive an’ important! We gotta get somethin’ from there!”

“What do you think it is that we need?” Henry asked as he looked around, well, he couldn’t find the axe. It was nice having it for a while, too bad he lost it. Again.

“I dunno, but it’s gotta be super important!” Bendy’s grin was big as he started to head out of the flooded area, coming to a stop in the new area. Henry blinked, surprised to find… well… an administration office. A jaunty tune, like one you’d hear at a dental office or an elevator started to play as they stepped into the large room. It was so bright in here, and surprisingly clean.

Bendy tilted his head, confused. “What’s all dis?”

“It’s a lobby, it seems, for appointments for the admissions offices.” Henry replied as he stopped to look at the appointment chart. He recognized Bertrum, Sammy, Susie, and Thomas’ names, but he didn’t really recognize some of these other ones.

There was a F. Fontaine, though that name sort of sounded familiar, didn’t he read something about that name in the paper a while ago? Like, he was involved with some business with a Ryan fellow? Henry couldn’t remember, that was a long time ago for some strange project no one understood. There was also something about a puppet guy.

… Puppet guy? Joey, what the hell?

Charles and the Prodigies must have been a band, at least they sounded like one, and there was someone listed as M.M., probably someone important to have a meeting with Joey out of the studio.

“Hey Henry, check dis out.” Bendy called out and Henry turned, finding that there was not only a Little Miracle Station in the lobby, but one of those GENT machines. Oh no, those seem like nothing but trouble.

Henry approached the machine and looked at the wheel on the side, all the options on it were strange. They reminded him of pipes, he hoped that he didn’t have to do anything with this but knowing his luck… he was.

Bendy looked around, finding a new room, grinning when he spotted the door for the vault. The grin was gone when he found that the hall was completely flooded. “Ah, oyster crackers! Another leak! Ya think someone woulda fixed up all these pipes!”

“Well, this is probably the cause of that.” Henry pointed to the strange structure of pipes on the wall, showing that a few happened to be missing. Bendy pouted as he looked at them.

“Oh, come on! Do we gotta make pipes now!?”

“Looks like it, unless if there’s another way around. I found a switch behind the desk in the lobby and flipped it, we can go into the new opened area to look in there.”

Bendy sighed, giving a nod. He decided to take a look around the area first, before they’d check out the administration offices. He found a desk and a tape. Henry took it from him and clicked play after finding Thomas Conner’s name on it.

The gruff voice echoed in the room and Bendy’s eyes slowly widened as he listened, his expression changing from curious to unsettled with every sentence spoken.

_“Progress Report to Gent Home Office. Client: Joey Drew Studios._

_Although we're making progress, the client's expectations keep changing. What started as a machine to simply mold life-size figures, now seems to be teetering on the edge of magic more than engineering. Although Mr. Drew remains convinced they are the same thing. The process of running the cartoon film through the machine for the figures to imprint upon is going well._

_We've had several near successes. One weird note, the first figure ever created was a failed attempt in the likeness of the character called Bendy._

_Since that time, no other attempts of this particular figure have emerged. And the one that did..._

_I dunno, there's just something unworldly about him.”_

Unworldly… Bendy remember that term being used about him. He remembered being called that, and many… many other mean terms, from so many different people. He remembered people calling him creepy, weird, a freak of nature, unnatural.

“Bendy?”

He felt a gentle hand on his head, making him turn to look at Henry, who was frowning softly. “Are you okay?” The man asked, who seemed to be ignoring the face that Bendy’s head was damp with ink, the demon could feel it slipping down his face.

“… No.” Bendy said softly, rubbing at his eyes. “I just… I remember people talkin’ about me from before, when I was just… golly, from when I was first created! I remember Thomas!”

He did, he remembered a man from GENT, wearing a work suit like Henry was currently wearing. He was tall, his face marked with small scars from his line of work, his hair buzzed short to his head and his eyes were dark and calculating, like he was always staring someone down to get a read on them. Reminded Bendy of how Tom looked at them.

Bendy actually remembered some things, he remembered this office area, he remembered sitting in there for hours as Thomas worked on designs and blueprints, keeping silent. He was locked in the room when no one else was in there, like he had to be, because someone… someone ordered him to be locked in there.

There was a saving grace though, when Alice would come in and take him around, as long as he kept close to her. Same with Boris, oh, how he loved spending time with-

The demon paused, something was wrong. His memories of Boris, they were… they were blurry. Like there was a strange filter on them. He could see things fine in his head, but Boris’ face was blurred out, like the film of his mind was damaged with age. He groaned, clutching his head, feeling his ink staring to run.

“Bendy? Bendy, are you okay?” Henry was quick to pull him into his arms, having seen the demon shaking like a leaf, a frightened look on his face.

“Henry, somethin’… somethin’ ain’t right! I can’t remember Boris too well!”

“What do you mean?”

“From before him savin’ us da other day… from my early days here at da studio, I can’t remember him! His face is blurred out!” Bendy’s ink looked so wet, it was dripping down his face in long, thick trails, worse than it normally did when he was upset.

Henry looked confused. “That… that doesn’t sound good at all. What about your Alice? Do you remember her?”

Bendy stopped, having to think on that. Did he remember her? He thought about her, but it wasn’t easy, he kept thinking about the two new Alice’s they’ve met these past few days. But he tried, he… he remembered something, from when he was still new to the studio, running around, in this area. He could remember Alice speaking to someone, Thomas? Yes, he knew that voice, he could remember them talking…

But when he peeked around the corner, he saw Thomas, but Alice? Alice looked different, he didn’t see a living toon like himself. He saw the Alice that had helped them, but she wore the outfit of his Alice, of the toon.

“I… I don’t know, my memories are all kinds of fuzzy an’ weird, like… footage over lappin’ or somethin’.” He shook his head, splattering bits of ink everywhere. “Let’s keep lookin’ around, gotta figure out if we can find da pipes around here, or if we gotta make ‘em.”

“Right.” Henry nodded as they left the GENT office and made their way to the new area. “But let me know if anything changes.”

“Don’t worry, I will.” Bendy nodded as they stepped down a small hall, only to stop when they heard noises. Peeking around the corner, Henry groaned in annoyance as he saw a ‘Charley’ walking down a turn at a corner down the right side of the hall.

“Uhg, not these guys again, we should just avoid ‘em, don’t wanna call too much attention to ourselves. Who knows if the other Bendy is walkin’ around somewhere.”

Bendy frowned as he looked about. “I don’t sense him, hang on.” He covered his eye, trying to get a read on the guy. Yet he saw nothing. Not even the Dark Puddles, it was almost as if he was in total darkness.

“I can’t… see him? I can’t see anythin’!” Bendy whispered to Henry, looking up at him in surprise.

Henry raised an eyebrow. “Think he’s on to us about this?”

“Probably, he’s pretty smart. Well, let’s keep movin’, gotta find some ink. Wait, why not use a Bendy for it?”

“Because you don’t like when I do, and I… didn’t like doing it durin’ the battle with Boris.”

Bendy just silently nodded as they slipped into the hallway to try and find some source of thick ink they could use. The duo was quiet as they looked about, opening doors to tiny, cramped offices to see if there was anything helpful. They slipped into one when a ‘Barely’ walked by, and Bendy discovered a tape in this one.

The sound of Wally filled the small space and Henry felt an ache in his chest at hearing the voice of his lost friend.

_“So, turns out it's my lucky day! I got to cleanin’ some of the offices around 2 am last night. And what do ya think I find on one of the chairs?_

_A big freakin’ chocolate cake._

_Just sittin’ there! Practically yellin’ my name! You know? I work hard!_

_I earn my pay. Every darn dollar. But you know what this company's missin’? Little, benefitin’ perks._

_And this here cake? It's a perk! Hopefully no one finds out what I done. Cause if they did, I can tell ya what would happen._

_I'm outta here.”_

“Sorry, Henry.” Bendy quietly mumbled, looking up at the man. “You okay?”

The animator gave a nod. “Yeah, I’m… fine, it’s just gonna take some getting use to, you know?”

The demon sighed, he understood that completely. “Well, let’s… keep movin’, we gotta get to dat film vault as soon as possible. I keep havin’ dis feelin’ in da back of my head dat we’re on a time limit.”

“What makes you think that?” Henry asked as he poked his head out of the office, stepping back into the hall once the coast was clear.

“Well... it’s weird, ever since we got to Alice’s safe house, I’ve been feelin’… different? I dunno, like there’s somethin’ not right wit’ mah ink. It’s like the further down we go, the stranger it gets. I mean, up on da first floor, I was a mass of livin’ ink, then we fell an’ I came out wit’ dis eye.” Bendy gestured to the yellow eye as they walked the halls, keeping as quiet as possible.

“Yeah, now that I think about it, the further we go, the more changes happen to us. Like your tail and ability to turn into an ink demon, and what’s happenin’ to me. When we escaped the safe house earlier, when the Other Bendy was close, my eye was actin’ up. I saw ink all over it. When we got away, it cleared up.”

Bendy grimaced at this, shuddering. “What do ya think is gonna happen to us if we get to da last floor?”

“I have a feelin’ we’re already there…” Henry mumbled as he pulled Bendy close, slipping into another area to stay out of sight of an ‘Edgar’. Henry waited for it to pass them by before he looked about the small, more open area. There was a recorder sitting on a desk in the room, as if it were waiting for them, like the others they’ve stumbled upon.

There was no name on it, but something told Henry that it was from someone important.

_“A small memo to all administration offices:_

_Rumors have begun to fly that we simply can't tolerate any longer. The idea that the company is in some form of financial difficulty is untrue and a slanderous lie against us. It's also been known to me that some backroom incompetents are not trusting in my leadership._

_As a leader, I'm always steering the boat, guiding our destiny. Looking at the big picture. No need for you people to worry about such complicated things._

_Just do whatever it is you do and trust your leader... which is me.”_

It took every bit of willpower in Henry to not roll his eyes. “Well, at least I know Joey continued to be every bit as egotistical and pig-headed as ever, even when dealin’ with this.”

“Jerk.” Bendy grumbled. “Well, let’s get a move on, him knowin’ dat he was bad wit’ money an’ leadership is old new to me, haha.”

More searching and dodging past the three wandering Butcher Gang members eventually led to Henry and Bendy finding a source of thick ink, a fountain that happened to be right by the office of none other than Joey Drew.

“Tacky.” Henry snorted, seeing the sign above the door, with the star in the O of Joey’s name.

“Did ya expect anythin’ else from him?” Bendy snickered as he approached the door, finding it unlocked. Swallowing loudly, he opened it, peeking into the room. Alarm bells practically went off in Bendy’s head as he looked at the office, he remembered it all too clearly.

Stepping into the dimly-lit office, Bendy remembered being in here a few times, hearing the harsh words from Joey Drew as he sat at the desk, yelling at whatever employee did him wrong, or at Thomas for not keeping an eye on Bendy.

“It looks a lot like his old one…” The demon heard Henry speak as he entered. “I guess he moved it when he expanded the place.”

Henry felt so uncomfortable, he remembered his nightmare that felt like it was from years ago. Seeing Joey at that desk, only to rise from it, leaking ink, just the pure insanity of it all. Was that nightmare an omen? Was Joey going to appear here? A bit of ink coated Henry’s hand, just in case, though he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Joey’s voice in the empty room.

“I know how much this part means to ya, Susie.”

Bendy had pressed play on the recorder that sat on the desk, jeez, nearly gave the poor creator a heart attack. Wait, this tape was addressing Susie? This can’t be good…

_“Alice means a lot to me too. Gosh, all of my characters do! In fact, I'll let you in on a little secret. I too really believe my characters are more than just drawings._

_They're alive. They're part of us. And I want people to know them as well as I do. I want people to be able to shake their hand, spend an afternoon with 'em. Love them._

_Susie, I'll be straight with you. I'm putting together a small project... a little ceremony if you will. If it works, a lot of dreams will come true. And I want you to be a part of it. ...I want you to bring Alice to life once again._

_What do ya say?”_

Henry shook his head. “He tricked her, played on her emotions, her love for Alice. I can’t believe it… he ruined her once again.”

“Dreams come true here, Henry. That’s what Joey wanted to do.” Bendy replied, and Henry hated to admit it, but Joey did live up to his word to make dreams a reality here. He always talked about it when they were growing up, and when they started the business.

_‘With enough effort and elbow grease, we can make your dreams come true, Henry! You just gotta believe and trust me.’_

That’s what Joey had told him when they had broke ground for the studio all those years ago, when Henry was young and still trusting of his former best friend. If only he had known the truth, all that effort and elbow grease, as Joey put it, had led Henry to constant exhaustion, hurting wrists, passing out far too often, and nearly putting a strain on his relationship.

“Bendy, did I ever tell you why I left the studio?” The demon shook his head in response. “Four years into working as head animator and co-founder here, I had been worked down to the bones. Joey rarely gave me a break, constantly wantin’ work from me. For a long time, I did practically all of the animation, with a small team that did clean up and backgrounds. As much as I loved drawin’, I needed more breaks, I needed more time with my family. So you know what I did?”

“Whatcha do?”

“I stormed into Joey’s office, demandin’ for more time off. We fought when he refused to let me have that, so I quit, on the grounds that I could keep the rights to you guys. Too bad that didn’t go through the way I wanted it to, Joey and I had to take this to a law firm, where I got the rights to you guys to do comics. Heh, a lot of animators in the thirties went on to doing newspaper comics and such, and that’s what I was doin’ for a long time, but I wasn’t allowed to animate you guys anymore. Joey got full rights to the studio, and it shows.”

Bendy stared up at him, looking to be lost in thought at what Henry just told him. “So… you still drew stuff for me? Even though you couldn’t animate me?”

Nodding, Henry smiled, gently patting him on the head. “Yeah, and I enjoy drawing little comics and such of you and your friends. I do miss drawin’ you for cartoons, but I at least was able to contribute for you without Joey breathin’ down my neck.”

The smile faded as he looked around the office. “Too bad I left too soon.”

He covered up his eye, Bendy doing the same, as they looked for messages. They found one, written above the door to the room, glowing brightly in gold lettering.

**Who is the man behind the monster?**

A fitting message, Henry thought as he considered what that nightmare meant. Joey might be involved in whatever the Ink Demon is and has planned. But then again… the Ink Demon seems to have implied that he has a thing against Joey, but for what reason, Henry had no clue.

“Let’s move on.” The animator stepped out of the office, moving to the fountain. He dipped his hand into it, making a face as he gripped a cold, lump of thick ink. “Uhg, that’s digustin’…”

“Uhh… Henry?”

Henry turned to see what was bothering Bendy, when he noticed that they weren’t alone. The Butcher Gang stood just feet from them, and they were quick to move towards them. “RUN!” Bendy shouted as he grabbed a hold of Henry’s wrist and bolted, making the man stumble behind him.

“B-Bendy, we can fight them…!”

“Nuh-uh! I know you’re still sore from dat fight with Sammy an’ da Lost Ones! An’ I ain’t gonna change wit’ us dis far!”

Henry glanced over his shoulder, seeing the trio trying to chase after them. He knew that they could fight, but Bendy was right. He was still feeling some pain from that fight, and the fall. Then there was what Bendy said about the changes. However, if Henry hadn’t had lost his axe, they wouldn’t be running back to the lobby.

They came to a stop, Bendy’s shoes loudly skidding across the floor. “Here they come!” Bendy shouted as he watched the Butcher Gang come closer to them, only for his eye to twinge in pain for a moment. He looked up at Henry, seeing a bit of ink leaking from his right eye. “Is… your vision blurry?”

“Yep. He’s close.” Henry swallowed, his heart beating harder as he saw black lines and splotches form on the floors and walls. He tensed up, looking up above himself at a walkway he hadn’t noticed before. There was the Other Bendy, just standing there, staring down at the five other figures in the room, his mouth twitching wildly.

Henry felt like there was something off about him, the ink that floated was more abundant than before, and he was dripping worse. He pointed at the Butcher Gang with his thin, human-like hand, before flicking his wrist. The trio squirmed before completely dissolving into puddles of ink.

“T-thank you…?” Bendy stammered, looking up at his counterpart.

There were no words in their heads from him, just a loud growl and moan as he turned away, dragging his foot behind him as he moved to enter an ink portal. The two stood there in silence, both of their eyes returning to normal as they watched the last bit of ink from the portal vanish.

“Did… he just save our lives? Again?” Bendy asked. “I don’t understand dis guy one bit. Also, did he… seem different? Appearance wise?”

“He did, and yeah, he looked like he was even more ink soaked than normal.”

“Think da lower levels affect him as well? He does look a lot different from when we first saw him.”

“Hm.” Henry shrugged, making his way to the little machine. “I’d rather not think about what’s goin’ on with him, it’s too much of a headache.”

Bendy nodded, waiting as Henry worked the machine, getting one of the pipes out. “We should have grabbed more of dat ink.”

Henry grunted as he picked up the pipe. “Yeah, but we sorta got chased down. Luckily, they’re gone now, we can just grab two more blobs of this stuff and we can get outta here and into the vault.”

After installing the pipe, the duo returned to the maze of halls, trying to find their way back to Joey’s office. Once they found the fountain, they each grabbed a lump of the ink and began their trek back to the machine. But Bendy paused, spotting an area they had passed before. “Hold up, Henry, gonna check somethin’ out in here.”

Bendy slipped into the room, finding a recorder sitting on a little table between two doors, a Little Miracles Station close by. He felt nervous as he approached the tape, he felt like there was something important on it. Picking it up, he clicked play.

_“Listen Tommy, I know you boys over at Gent are doing your best, but I'm paying for living attractions, not weird abominations!_

_Whatever that grinning thing was I saw wandering around your office, you better keep it locked up tight! I realize it was a first attempt but imagine if the press caught sight of it! Might scare off investors!_

_And in response to your previous memo: If you claim your failures are because these things are soulless, then, damn it, we'll get them a soul!_

_After all, I own thousands of 'em!”_

There was a loud snarl as Bendy crushed the recorder in his hand, a hand that was much larger, with longer, clawed fingers. “So dat’s it… all those people here were sacrificed cause _you couldn’t do anything right!_ ”

Henry moved out of the way just in time of the flying chunk of metal and plastic and flew past his head, striking the wall. “B-Bendy, calm down..!” The demon was changing before his eyes, ink rose off of his body as his eyes changed in response to the anger he felt.

He turned to look at his creator, anger in his expression as it slowly turned to guilt and pain. Inky tears ran down his cheeks as he tried to hold back a sob. _“I… I’m da reason dat people are trapped here…”_

“Bendy, no…” He was cut off by Bendy holding up a hand.

 _“No, Henry, didn’t ya hear ‘em. He said I was soulless, an’ to make better ink characters, he used souls! He used people, killed ‘em, cause of me! I’m why Susie turned into dat scary Alice! I’m… why Wally turned into Boris!”_ He gasped, his eyes wide. _“I… I don’t remember Boris. I remember Wally.”_

Henry asked him watch he meant, watching Bendy suddenly change back, his eyes visibly shaking on his face as he stared at Henry. “H-Henry, I don’t remember Boris well anymore… cause I never had a Boris! It was Wally all along!” He no longer saw the blurred-out face of Boris in his mind.

No, he saw the janitor that would give him treats, play instruments in the music room when Sammy was out, and show him all sorts of little games to play! “I never has a Boris, then dat means I never had an Alice, but… but why did I remember ‘em as toons? Do ya think da ink did somethin’ to my memories? Or did someone mess ‘em up, to make me forget somethin’ important?”

“I don’t have the answers to your questions, but I’m sure we’re closer to the answers to them now than we ever have been.”

“Dat honestly terrifies me more than not knowin’ da truth, ol’ man.” Bendy rubbed at his head, wiping away dripping ink. “It’s gettin’ worse.”

“Then we better get movin’, we get what we need, and we keep goin’.”

They silently made their way through the maze, getting the pipes from the machine once they approached. After they got the machine to work and the inks to flow, they drained the hallway and made their way into the vault. Henry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end when he found that the giant, steel door to the vault had been torn off its hinges by a powerful force.

It was like when the Ink Demon broke the door to kill the Projectionist.

“He was here.” Bendy said softly as he stared at the door. “He might have grabbed da item.”

“We’ll just have to look to see.” Henry stepped inside, seeing that there were a few films left in there, along with boxes. He started to look into boxes with Bendy, hearing the demon turn on a radio. A soft song started to play, sounded similar to the one that was playing in the lobby from before. Except he started to hear a bit of soft singing, in a very familiar voice.

_‘I’m just a lonely angel… sittin’ here on a shelf…’_

“An Alice song, heh, how… nice.” He heard Bendy comment quietly as he opened a box. Henry frowned, he found two broken reels and a splattering of ink inside. Had what they been looking for been in here the box? The ink was oddly still wet, and lumpy. The rest of the ink in the area was dry as a bone, which made him suspicious…

He moved to stand, using the wall in front of him to help, but he stopped when he felt something wet under his fingers.

“Bendy, look at this wall with me.” Henry closed his eye, seeing nothing new until the letters suddenly appeared. There was a new hidden message, the ink still damp. Henry frowned as he looked at the message, hearing the radio suddenly distort while he stared at the words, the little horns drawn on the O.

**_‘I’d not be by myself…_ ’ **

**THE DEMON HAS TAKEN IT**

So, the Ink Demon was here, and he took what they needed. But where did he go? Do they need to summon him to where they are to fight him? Or do they have to go to him? That seems like the more likely option, and Henry had a very good idea of where this encounter was going to take place. He’s seen it lowering more and more into the studio, and it was gonna have to end up somewhere at the bottom.

Which means they have to go to the last room of the studio to find what it is that they needed.

“What is it that he took?” Henry asked aloud, tensing up when he heard footsteps getting closer.

“Looks like whatever was here was taken long ago.”

Henry turned to see Alice and Tom approaching the duo. He frowned, raising an eyebrow, where the heck had they been? “How did you get down here?” Bendy asked, crossing his arms.

“It pays to carry a rope,” Alice smirked, tugging at the one she wore around her shoulder, “you should try it.”

The animator rolled his eyes, he had no time to deal with smug angels anymore. “Look, I know where we have to go… but it’s not goin’ to be pleasant.”

“Wait, you do?” Bendy blinked, looking up at Henry, who simply nodded.

“Yeah, we need to go to where the Ink Machine will be. Look, the Ink Demon has somethin’ that we need… I’m goin’ after him.”

Alice and Tom both looked at one another with weary expressions, then they turned to Henry and Bendy once more. “You want to go to his lair? Are you crazy?” Alice snipped, narrowing her eyes at the man. “That’s death!”

“That’s where the trail seems to lead.” Henry shrugged.

The angel sighed loudly in exasperation. “Well, it’s probably close by, probably through that door.” She gestured to a door off to the side of them. “But it won’t be easy to open. I’ll need… three gears, a crowbar…”

As she started to list off what she needed to open the stuck and broken door, Tom stepped past her and approached it. He pulled back his metal arm, swung back, and slammed his fist into the metal doors, forcing them to open.

Alice and Henry were a bit speechless at such an action as Bendy just snickered behind his hand. Tom rolled his eyes, gesturing to the open doors. Henry was surprised to see a bit of smugness on that face of his.

“Huh,” Alice blinked, “well, that works too. I guess.”

Bendy and Henry watched as the two stepped down the now-opened hallway, with them following behind. Henry was suddenly hit with a strong wave of déjà vu as he looked at the hallway. The posters, the style, it looked so much like the hallway to the main room up on the first level, when he first arrived.

There was a desk at the end of the hallway, with an operating projector, displaying light on a blank screen. “Dis is so… creepy.” Bendy spoke as he gripped Henry’s hand, looking at the cutout of himself in the corner. Jeez, when’s the last time he’s seen that handsome face! He nearly screamed when music started to play from the little speaker near the projector.

“This place looks too different.” Alice commented. “It’s like it was removed from upstairs and brought down here.”

“Probably was-” Henry started but was cutoff when he turned down another hallway and found an all-too familiar sight. “My desk.”

There it was, sitting here, just like it had been upstairs. The same drawings still left on the old surface, the same wooden chair that left Henry with a sore back after so many hours sitting in it. Hell, even the walls were like his work space, dozens of old sketches and drawings covered the three walls around the desk. There was even a Bendy cutout like before, happily smiling at him with soulless eyes.

“W-why is this here?” He asked aloud as he approached, grimacing as he noticed the wet ink stains left on the yellowed wood.

Shaped like mismatched hand prints.

He hissed, his eye stinging as his vision became blurry with ink. “Henry…” He heard Bendy whimper as the air suddenly got ice cold, the pressure almost seeming to be too much. He stepped away from the desk, moving down another hall, until he found a long, glass wall that showed another hallway.

“Quiet,” Alice whispered from behind him, “don’t make any noise…”

Henry released Bendy’s hand and quietly stepped towards the glass, despite Alice’s panicked whispering and the ink crawling along the walls. He stopped in front of the damaged window, watching as the Ink Demon made his second appearance to him that day.

The Other Bendy looked horrible, his body was leaking so much ink, it was dropping off of him in thick clumps. The stuff that floated around him almost seemed consuming, and his limp had been so much more obvious. The demon stopped in front of him, slowly turning his head to face Henry, making the human feel uncomfortable, he even felt ink dripping down his cheek.

The grin on the other’s face looked so forced before he turned away, continuing his walk down the hall. Henry followed him to the end of the glass, seeing that at the end of where he was there was a turn in the hall, where Henry saw a message in black ink, **DEATH**.

“What… the hell were you thinking?!” Alice hissed as she approached Henry once the Ink Demon was gone.

“He didn’t fight us earlier, he let us even escape your home without trouble. He wants us to follow him, the Ink Demon knows we’re gonna finally face him, in his domain.”

Tom huffed, crossing his arms. The look on his face practically screamed ‘that gives him an advantage’.

“I understand that you don’t like where this is goin’, both of you, but this has to end. The monster of this studio has to be taken down.”

Bendy gulped, looking down the hall at the word painted on the wall. “Even at da risk of our own safety, we gotta help all of you guys here.”

The toon moved and jumped, latching himself to Henry’s back, making the man almost fall. “I want da Other Me to stop just as much as you guys, an’ though I’m scared outta mah wits, I’m followin’ Henry to da end of dis adventure!” He announced, throwing his fist up in the air.

Alice frowned and bit her lip as she looked at the two. “We’ll help you as best as we can, but we’re getting too close to the source of all of this. To… where we might die.”

“Whatever you can do to help, we thank you for it.” Henry replied before he turned away, making his way to the bend in the walkway, finding that it let to a darkened room, one that he saw was very open. The scent of ink was incredibly strong here.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling ink squirm and move up his hand, wrapping around his wrist. He had to be ready for anything. He had no weapon except this, and if he had to fight, he’d fight with the ink. He stepped into the new room, completely left speechless at what was inside.

It was a massive cavern, flooded almost completely with ink. In the ink was a massive Ink Machine, at least five times the size of the one Henry had seen upstairs that he had activated. Speaking of that one, he watched as it came down from a hole in the ceiling, dropping down slowly onto the larger machine.

“Red cups an’ blue mugs, dat thing is humongous!” Bendy shouted as he jumped from Henry’s back, staring in awe. “When did dat get installed!?”

“Wow!” Alice gasped as she stepped past the two. “I’ve never seen this before!”

She approached the end of the small island they stood on, staring out at the sea of ink. “I don’t see any way around… nothing to build a raft with.”

“We’ll have to wade across.” Henry suggested as he looked around. Yep, can’t see any other choice but to walk. Great, more ink stains, can’t be helped.

Alice looked hesitantly at the ink before glancing over at Henry. “We can’t… we’re not like you, Henry. If we go in there, well… a drop of water in the ocean is rarely seen again.”

Bendy’s ink started to run again. “I stepped in da ink before, but nothin’ happened to me.”

“You’re different from us, Bendy.” Alice spoke softly. “You’re a real toon, we’re… much different from what you are.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

Henry watched the two before looking at the Ink Machine. “Then I guess it’s up to me and Bendy. Heh, and I don’t even know what I’m doin’ here. I don’t even know why this is all happenin’ to me, to us.”

“You’re here for a reason, Henry.” Alice stated, gripping her sword tightly. “There’s always a reason!” She turned to look at the machine once more. “Even when you can’t understand it. It’s time… set us free!”

Set us free, so many were asking that of Henry and Bendy. Could they really do it, could they save these poor souls and themselves in this last confrontation? He hoped so, he really did.

Henry gave a silent nod before picking up Bendy, putting him onto his shoulders, before marching his way to the ink. He hissed as he stepped into the ice-cold ink that went up to his waist. Jeez, this was worse than Level 14.

He started to move through the ink, Bendy holding on to him as best as he could. He glanced back at the duo, wow, they seemed really far away. He sighed loudly. “They could have at least given me a weapon.”

Bendy snorted loudly and laughed at that, earning a chuckle from Henry as they got up to the dry land of the giant Ink Machine. He stepped up the small flight of stairs, setting Bendy down. The demon glanced around before gasping, pointing at a wet, inky mass leaning against some rocks that stuck out of the ink. “Henry, dat’s Chester! From _Bendy Walks da Plank_! Look at him, Joey musta been tryin’ to make some more of mah villains! Phew, good thing he didn’t, I’d really wouldn’t wanna deal wit’ da Nightmare Gang, dat was a bad arc.”

“Yeah, we don’t need anymore things to fight. We’ve already got one left and he’s in here.”

“Yeah… fantastic.” Bendy groaned as he moved to the entrance. From what they could see, it was a long hallway, this couldn’t be good. And to add to the unsettling feeling Henry felt, he noticed that the ink that had soaked his clothes was moving up on his body, covering his right arm in a thin layer of ink.

Henry looked at the ink on his arm, shaking his head. “We’re in for a heck of a fight, kid.”  
  
“Yeah… an’ I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“Sorry, bud, but I don’t think we’re suppose to, even if we think we are. We have no idea what’s gonna happen in here, but we’re gonna find out.” He started to move down the hall, Bendy quickly following behind him, tail swishing back and forth wildly. He started to whistle his theme to himself, sounding nervous as he did.

Henry looked around, feeling Bendy grab at his hand again, seeing a message written in ink, about remembering their name. Oh Joey… how could you? He gasped when he found glass chambers that showed ink creatures, three Lost Ones and a Boris, made completely out of ink with no details like eyes or color.

“Henry…” Bendy whimpered, more ink started to pour off of him. He looked more scared and exhausted all of a sudden. Actually, he felt pretty tired, and he felt too wet, his ink pooling off of him more and more with each step. “I don’t feel good…”

“Hold on, kiddo, we’re almost there.” Henry replied, feeling something inside of his chest ache. Like the Ink Demon was around, but there was no evidence that he was here. He felt more ink gathering on his hand, completely soaking it in the substance as he pulled on a switch.

Doors opened, revealing another hallway that ended in a room, with… a chair? Was that a chair? Bendy and Henry looked at one another before walking to the room.

Bendy let out a gasp as his eyes widened when they stepped into the room. There were screens all around them, showing repeating clips of all sorts of Bendy cartoons. _Sent from Above, Hell in a Handbasket, The Butcher Gang, Demonic Tonic_ , so many cartoons from the series, all of them being shown on screens through projectors that surrounded a giant chair, covered in thick ink.

The chair was unusual, large, almost presented as a throne. There were strange chains hanging from pipes that were stuck in the backrest, and a reel sat on the seat.

“This is…” Henry blinked, before hearing a squeaking sound, as something moved out from behind the chair into view. Alarm bells went off in Henry’s head as he looked at the person who made their appearance.

Sitting in a wheelchair, dressed in an old suit, slightly ink stained, was the one and only Joey Drew. At least… he appeared to be Joey, but he looked so old, as if sixty years had passed instead of thirty since they last saw one another.

“Well, well, well,” Joey smiled as he looked at the two, “I’m surprised it took you this long to come down here, Henry. And it looks like you found a friend to travel with you! Hope you didn’t have too much trouble here.”

Henry couldn’t speak as he stared at Joey, he was completely at a loss for words.

But Bendy clearly wasn’t. “Oh no! I am _not_ dealin’ wit’cha bein’ so nice an’ stuff wit’ us, Joey Drew! How _dare_ you think you can act like we haven’t been through a livin’ hell on our way down here!” He growled as he started to change, stepping towards the man, only to suddenly be slammed into the ground by a shot of ink. It had reached up from the vents in the floor, grabbed his arm, and threw him down.

“Bendy!” Henry moved to help his friend, only for ink to wrap around his own feet. “What the he- Joey, what’s goin’ on!?”

“Now, now, Henry. No need to start anything with me, especially not in this place. I know you’re a man with a special Bendy mark on your hand, I’ve been… informed of some of your travels through my studio. I should have known that the ink would want you to be involved in its business, even gave you a very special gift.” Joey frowned, leaning back in his chair. “But you’re not the only one.”

He opened his left hand, showing a Bendy mark, upside down, with black lines breaching out of it to spread along his palm and arm. “I suggest you stop trying to fight me so we can talk.” Joey flexed his fingers and ink started to envelope Bendy. “Henry, I’m sure you don’t want to see the poor thing get hurt, right? The ink is very dangerous, even to a true ink demon like him…”

“H-Henry..!” Bendy screamed, trying to get up, only for more ink to cover him. It rose from the grates in the floor quickly, spreading over the imp like a living wave.

The animator turned his attention to Joey, eyes wide. “Let him go! Fine, fine, we’ll listen to you!”

“Good.” Joey smiled as he flicked his wrist, the ink splashing off of Bendy, who scrambled to his feet, moving away from Joey to be near Henry. “Now that you know that I’m also a threat, even in my current condition, let’s get down to business, shall we?”

“What… kind of business, Joey?” Henry frowned deeply. “What do you want with us? Why did you ask me to come here?”

“Well, I asked you to come back to see the machine! And to see what I’ve been up to since you walked out on us.” He ignored the huff from Henry. “What I want you two for is something very important, something that could fix all of the studio’s problems, and mine.”

He snapped his fingers and Henry suddenly felt deathly cold. He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and watched as a gloved hand slapped down onto one of the metal rods of the chair, followed by an inky human hand.

Ink Demon rose up from behind the chair, his attention completely on Bendy. He looked terrible, his mouth was actually set in a scowl instead of the creepy grin it’s been in. Bendy stared at him, visibly shaking, as he watched the Ink Demon’s hands suddenly grow. The demon looked like he was in pain as his hands grew, as did his horns, before he vanished behind the chair. There were unsettling noises from behind, like something snapping and squishing at the same time, until completely new hands appeared.

Bendy and Henry watched in complete horror as the Ink Demon showed himself once more, now transformed into a being that neither had seen before. There was not a speck of Bendy’s signature appearance on this thing that wasn’t the horns or the holes in the hands that were meant to be his buttons. This thing was completely soaked in ink, with sharp, yellowed teeth. He sat himself down on the chair before he roared and moved his arm, back handing Bendy right through the metal wall to the small demon’s right.

Bendy rolled on the ground when he landed, grunting in pain. He shook his head, looking around quickly to find that he was in a strange, new area, and that he had come out of a hole in the wall. He heard Henry shout his name, and before he could reply, something ran past him, almost crushing him. Bendy yelped, moving out of the way, just in time to see that the new Ink Demon charged past him on his massive hands, before going through an ink portal in the wall.

“Henry!” Bendy called out. “I’m comin’ back, stay put!”

He had no idea where he was, but he sure as heck wasn’t gonna stick around in this spot, not with that monster running around! He had to figure out how to get out of this weird place, uhg, there were more of those glass cases with the ink creatures inside. Okay, there had to be a way out, the toon was smart, he was clever, he’d figure out where the door wa-

Ink Demon rushed past him once more and Bendy spun around in place in a black and white blur from the force. He stopped his body, but his head spun for a moment longer, when it stopped, he was seeing stars with those spiral eyes of his. Shaking the spirals and stars away, Bendy got a clear head, no, no cartoon stuff now! He had to save Henry, who knew what Joey was gonna do to him!?

Joey, oh man, he finally shows his ugly mug again after so long, and he’s got powers?! When did that happen!? Why did he have a Bendy mark too, was it from the Ink Demon? Was it from Bendy? Over the past few days, the toon had wondered where the mark on Henry came from, and all he could conclude was that it came from him.

He smacked an inky hand to Henry’s mouth when they first fell, he knew that some of that disgusting ink had been swallowed by his friend. Henry had gotten hurt during their escape from Sammy and used his injured hand to help Bendy, mixing their blood together, creating what is possibly a bond of blood. And with Bendy’s changes, Henry gained his own.

Did Joey and Ink Demon make a blood bond as well? He wouldn’t put it past Joey to make a deal with a devil…

Bendy pressed himself flat against a wall, avoiding almost being splattered by his counterpart, when he spotted a switch. That had to help him! He grabbed it, pulling it down. He heard something from somewhere else in the large maze and moved to find another. He had to get to Henry, he had to save him!

The toon demon felt his ink shift as he moved to all fours, running fast on longer limbs as he tried to find more switches and avoid death. He doubted that he was gonna come out of the ink like Henry did, something in his core told him that his death was a one-time thing here, if he croaked, that was it. He shuddered and kept running, grabbing the next switched, yanking it down as he moved to find the next one.

Within a few moments, Bendy found that he had gotten all the levers pulled and he saw that a hallway had opened up. He heard the roars of the other demon somewhere else in the maze and Bendy took his chance to run down the new passageway. He came to a stop in a new area, finding a few screens inside that played more clips of himself.

What was with these projectors? Were they here for a reason? Did the Ink Demon watch them because he knew that he could never be the Bendy on the screen? Bendy knew that he could never be like his animated version either, but he was fine with that, he was fine with who he was, tail and weird eye included.

Bendy noticed four glass pipes, those seemed very important to the machine. He didn’t like that he found the message of **WHO’S LAUGHING NOW** painted on a wall. Something caught Bendy’s attention out of the corner of his eye, a valve. Carefully, he approached it, turning it with a loud squeak. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the glass tubes suddenly filled with ink in a loud rush. He almost screamed when Ink Demon came charging into the room.

Well, actually, he did scream, as he started to run around the room, trying to avoid being killed. Both the door to the room and the door leading out of it were closed shut and he couldn’t travel the ink like the other him! How was he supposed to escape!?

Sure, he had demonic ink powers himself, but even Bendy knew he was no match for the hulking beast that was Ink Demon now! Bendy yelped when he barely missed being crashed into a pillar of ink and glass, though he watched in shock when the Ink Demon slammed through it, shattering the glass with ease. It seemed to daze the beast, but also caused the lights in the room to flicker.

Was… was this a power source for the Ink Machine!?

Ink sprayed from the machine and Bendy moved out of the way. If he could get Ink Demon to shatter all of these, maybe it would help with stopping the machine?

 _“Hey ugly!”_ Bendy shouted from across the room. _“Come an’ get me!”_ This was a risky, he could die, but he had to try!

Ink Demon screamed and rushed towards Bendy, swinging a massive arm, which Bendy ducked to avoid. The hand slammed into the next glass tube, breaking it easily, making the lights flicker once more.

Smirking, Bendy ran away to another pipe, taunting his other self with a raspberry. This was like something out a cartoon! He almost laughed when the big guy smashed the next glass column with his head, stunning him for a few seconds.

Just one more to go! Ink Demon snarled loudly and moved fast, nearly grabbing a hold of Bendy when he tried to get him. Bendy squeaked and moved out of the way, beginning to run around the last pipe with the other chasing him in circles. Add some silly music and ridiculous banter and this _would_ be something from a cartoon.

Bendy shouted in alarm when his tail was grabbed, and he was lifted up with ease. He looked at the terrifying face of the other demon. No, no! It wasn’t going to end like this, not today, not ever! Bendy growled and swung himself, using his own body to strike the last pipe. He hissed at the sharp pain of hitting the glass. It didn’t shatter like the others, but it had many cracks in it.

The two demons looked at the pipe, hearing cracks and clicks as the spiderweb-like lines spread from the pressure of the ink. Then it burst, and the room was plunged in complete darkness. Bendy yelped again as he was dropped, hitting the metal floor with a thud. He groaned and sat up, the lights coming back a few seconds later.

When they did, Bendy found that he was completely alone. He couldn’t sense the other anywhere, did… did they win? The extra ink on Bendy dropped off of him, like a bucket of water had been drenched on him, and he was tiny again. He looked around before seeing that the doors were opening, he could get back to Henry!

Hang on, old man, Bendy was coming!

\--

“Bendy!” Henry called out, trying to fight against the tightening grip of ink around his legs. “Joey, let me go! Bendy!” He had to save his friend, that beast-like Ink Demon had went after him!

“They have business to take care of together, something they’ve needed to deal with for a long, long time now, Henry.” Joey frowned, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. “And as do we, old friend.”

Henry snapped his attention to Joey, scowling at the older man. “Oh, I’m sure we do.” He paused when he heard Bendy’s voice calling out to him from the hole in the wall. At least he’s safe. Bendy’s smart, he’ll figure out how to get back here.

“Do you know what happened to the studio after you left, Henry?” Joey spoke, catching his attention.

“Aside from it turning into a real horror show, no, not really.”

Joey chuckled. “The show continued without you, we got more money coming in from investments I made, and we hired more staff. We expanded, as you saw. I was at least nice enough to leave your desk in its little space, in case you ever thought of coming back. But I was just wishfully thinking on that, I knew you were done here when you decided to file that lawsuit to get rights to the characters.”

Henry glowered hard, but kept his mouth shut, so Joey continued. “I decided to try new things, Henry, to get more attention for the series. I wanted our studio to be like the big ones out there, to have us known like Walt, Pat, Max and Dave! But we had to be bigger, better, different. I used my own knowledge of dark magic, you remember those old books, right? The ones from my old home that were destroyed? Yes, I’m sure you do.”

“Yes, and I told you that they were strange and creepy, that you shouldn’t mess with them.”

“You don’t seem to be complaining too much, you obviously appear to like Bendy.” This seemed to catch Henry’s attention, his expression changed. “Please don’t be so surprised, old friend. You knew for a while now that Bendy wasn’t like anything else here. I’m sure you’ve learned that he was the first toon made by the Ink Machine.”

He hated to admit it, but Henry knew that Joey was right. “What exactly is the Ink Machine?” He heard loud noises from beyond the walls, he hoped Bendy was okay…

“A machine that makes dreams a reality.” The old director smiled brightly, a twitch of his fingers and the ink around Henry’s legs pooled off, freeing him. But Henry didn’t move, didn’t want to risk it. “I planned it out, designed the original myself. Sadly, it didn’t work all that well, anything we put in became lumps of ink that tried to be alive but didn’t have the right stuff to really… be anything. So, Wally and I designed a second one, and that created Bendy. But he wasn’t… perfect. Oh, he functioned like a living toon, but he seemed… off. Very off. Because of what he’s made from.”

There was a bitter, angry tone in Joey’s voice, but a regretful look was clear as day on his face. “I made the biggest mistake of my life the day I made him, and it cost me dearly. There’s a reason I’m in this chair, Henry, that I look so ravaged with age. But I’m not gonna let that continue, we’re so close to fixing my mistakes…”

The lights flickered, and Joey frowned. “What is that foolish demon doing now…” He looked around, seeing that the projectors were still working. With a heavy sigh, he stared at the screens, making Henry unconsciously do the same.

“It's simply awe-inspiring what one can accomplish with their own hands! A lump of clay can turn to meaning... if you strangle it with enough enthusiasm. Look what we've built! We created life itself, Henry!”

Joey gestured to the different cartoons, of Bendy, Alice, Boris, the Butcher Gang. The lights went off and on once more, but the projectors still played. “Not just on the silver screen, but in the hearts of those we've entertained with our fancy moving pictures! But... when the tickets stopped selling, when the next big thing came along, only the monsters remained.”

Again, the lights were going in and out. What was going on? “Shadows of the past. But you can save them, Henry! You can peel it all away! You see, there's only one thing Bendy and Ink Demon have never known: they were there for their beginning, but they’ve never seen... The End.”

The lights went out completely and Henry felt something cold in his hands, something hard and metallic, almost familiar. When the lights returned, he was looking at a film reel, the one that had been sitting on Ink Demon’s throne. It had a single label on it, written by hand.

“‘The End.’” He read out loud, staring at the reel before looking at the other man in the room. “Joey, what will this do exactly?”

“Play it, and you will fix everything, I’m sure of it. You always were the best at fixing up problems in the studio.”

Before Henry could reply, loud footsteps caught his attention. Turning, Henry saw Bendy running into the room, looking exhausted. Henry complete missed the grimace on Joey’s face at the arrival of the dancing devil. “Bendy, you’re alive!” Henry happily exclaimed.

“Yeah! I escaped da Other Me!” Bendy grinned before he was suddenly grabbed, making him fall to the floor with a hard thud. Grunting, Bendy looked behind himself, seeing that a large, familiar hand had grabbed his tail once more. “Oh no…”

He stared at the rising form of the beastly Ink Demon from the floor, the creature rising above him with a toothy grin. With a quick action, he had grabbed a hold of Bendy in his large hand, gripping him tightly as he pulled him close.

**‘No more running… it is time for us to become one.’**

With no warning, he pressed his forehead against Bendy’s own, wet ink was quick to drip down Bendy’s face, clinging to him, spreading like the inky trails. Bendy squirmed and tried to get out of the vice grip around him.

“Bendy! Bendy, no!” Henry cried out, trying to run towards the two.

Bendy looked at Henry with his black eye, shrunken in horror as more ink pooled over his face. “H-Henry…” He reached out. “Help me..!”

Just as Henry got to him, the form of Ink Demon changed once more, becoming a thick, massive glob of the black substance that pulled Bendy into it right before Henry’s eyes. There was nothing of the little imp that Henry could see, just a massive blob of ink, just like the one that had been released from the machine so long ago…

The scream from Henry echoed throughout the machine.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Joey has finally made his actual appearance in the story, outside of a dream. 
> 
> So, I bet you have questions! Lots and lots of questions! Well, the answers to all of those questions will be revealed… probably next chapter. And the epilogue. And if not then, you can always just ask me, but only AFTER the story is done.
> 
> Next chapter: And now as the curtains finally close, you see the results of what you chose. Didn’t have to go this way, maybe if you’d only stayed… all this tragedy could have been prevented.
> 
> Thanks for reading, please comment and kudos!


	15. I’ll Find a Way Out of this Hell, I’m Hoping. Where is the Bendy that the Screen is Showing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final reel of the show rests in Henry’s hands, can he play it? What’ll it do if he puts it into the main projector? Will he not only kill the Ink Demon, but lose Bendy in the process?
> 
> What can he do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it.
> 
> The final chapter of the story.
> 
> Though I do plan for an epilogue, this is the final chapter of the main plot line, the epilogue is just a bit more.
> 
> I just want to say thank you all, thank you everyone who has read and enjoyed this story. Thank you to everyone who left kudos, comments, and has bookmarked this fanfic. Thank you to all the wonderful people who have drawn fanart and to my collaborators for their amazing artwork. Thank you to my friends who supported me and gave me some advice while listening to all my silly rambling. Thank you to my sister who told me to write this idea. Thank you to my boyfriend who put up with my nonsense about drawing and writing when I was frustrated.
> 
> And thank you everyone who finds this story in the future and gets to this chapter because they want to see… The End.
> 
> Warning: blood, violence, attempted murder
> 
> A big shout out to affixedradifyer on tumblr for upgrading the clone Bendy designs and doing two drawings for this chapter! And, of course, the return of brandyjin with another awesome piece for the fanfic, thank you guys so much for contributing to the story! Remember to check out these artists’ works! :D 
> 
> On with the fic!

Bendy cracked open his eyes, blinded for a moment as something shined brightly in front of him. Blinking a few times, he adjusted to the light, a spotlight. He found himself on a stage, the backdrop was of a tropical island, palm tree cutouts were set up around him. Bendy felt something on his person, he hadn’t noticed them at first. Around his waist was a grass skirt, on his head a crown of flowers, and before him was an audience that was politely clapping, awaiting the show.

He smiled, taking a small bow, before snapping his fingers. Music began to play, oh! He knew this beat, this was a good song to dance to! Bendy happily started to dance to the beat under the spotlight that followed him around the stage.

The little demon began whistle along with the beat, hearing the audience’s applause getting louder. Until the music started to repeat in spots, the tone changing, before it sounded as if the record playing it was skipping and dying down. The music suddenly cut off with a loud scratch. The audience was as silent as a grave now, in fact, Bendy couldn’t see their silhouettes anymore.

Bendy stopped, knowing that this wasn’t right, the show was to continue until the song ended. Then the curtain would drop, and he’d hear a little jiggle, meaning the end of the cartoon.

Wait, cartoon? This wasn’t an actual stage performance?

That’s right… this was the first cartoon of his series, The Dancing Demon, he remembered it. He was doing hula dancing to a jaunty tune, it was a successful start for the show.

Wasn’t he doing something else? Was he suppose to be dancing?

No, no, why would he be on stage when he wasn’t on one in the show? And for that matter, why was he dancing, what was he doing before he found himself here?

He was doing something important… Bendy had been talking to someone, he remembered agreeing to something, something he had promised. How long ago had he made the promise? What was it, anyway?

And a voice, he knew that before he woke up here, there had been a voice, calling his name.

The voice sounded alarmed and scared, calling out to him just as things went dark, the last thing Bendy remember seeing was a glow of yellow and green…

A single, slow clap caught his attention. The imp found someone sitting in the seats that sat before the stage, a lone figure, with a familiar shape. They stood up and started to approach, clapping the whole time.

“ **Bravo, little me, bravo.** ”

Bendy squeaked, he knew that voice, that nickname! No, no… it was the Ink Demon!

And yet… the figure didn’t really look like the demon that had scared Bendy so many times. He didn’t appear lanky and skeletal nor did he look like that terrifying form he had taken on before Bendy woke up here.

No, he looked like Bendy, but there was so much wrong with him. Sure, they were of similar build and shape, but his counterpart’s smile was strained, his face stained in ink, and his eyes…

Well, one eye, actually, it was completely off-model. The Ink Demon wore Bendy’s left eye, the right was a gaping hole, completely black and hollow. It reminded him too much of the Other Alice’s missing eye, made him so uneasy. The Other Bendy chuckled as he made his way to the stage, moving to walk up the steps at the side of it.

“ **Lovely performance, little me, but now is not the time for dancing.** ” He stated, his grin dropping hard as he narrowed his eye.

“W-what’s goin’ on?” Bendy stepped back. “Where are we?! Where’s Henry?!”

That’s right, he had been running around with his creator for the last few days, but now? Now he had no idea where he was, or what happened to get him here.

“ **Hmph, you really don’t remember? You and Henry finally came to my lair, found Joey there with me, and you decided to offer yourself up to me, so we can become perfect again.** ”

“Perfect again..?”

The Other Bendy sighed. “ **I’m not surprised that you don’t remember all of your past, might take a bit of time with our minds still attempting to meld together. Allow me to fill in the blanks to make it move along faster.”**

He threw an arm around Bendy, pulling him close, much to the other’s protest. **“We were once one Bendy, there was only ever one Bendy, until Joey decided to mess all that up. Right now, we are in our mind, our safe space. A soul room, if you will. You were in here for a long time, little me. Doesn’t it feel familiar?** ”

Bendy was afraid to ask why he was here, but he did anyway.

“ **You see, we are… well, we’re not like the other toons. To put your fears to rest, we’re not made from humans like Boris and Alice were. No, we were made through a deal that Joey made.** ”

“A deal with a devil?”

The grin returned to the other’s face. “ **Yes! My, my, you are a smart toon! Joey thought that the only way to make us real was through the use of demonic energy and the Ink Machine. Yes, the Ink Machine has its own energy, but it isn’t enough to create a perfect toon. All it could do was make lifeless models, poorly made ones, so many empty shells. So, Joey decided to perform a ritual.** ”

A projector clicked and Bendy jumped at the sudden sound. The market backdrop was gone, replaced with a blank screen. The spotlights went off, leaving the projector light as the only one on, and something began to play on the screen.

It was an animation, of a cartoon version of Henry and Joey. Henry looked so much younger, smiling as he waved at the screen, but he was then startled when Joey started to argue with him, before gesturing to something off screen. Henry frowned deeply and sighed silently, walking in the direction, leaving Joey alone. Joey suddenly seemed worried and ran off screen, only to return, depressed.

“ **When Henry left,** ” the Ink Demon spoke up, “ **the studio struggled a little. Okay, a lot, actually. Henry was the best animator and was keeping everything in control when it came to the employees. Joey had trouble keeping things in control himself and discovered that he needed to give the studio something that no other animation studio had. He wanted things to be easier, and to make Joey Drew Studios a household name!** ”

He moved away from Bendy, before turning to look at the dancing demon. “ **Wanna take a guess as to what his solution was?** ”

Bendy frowned, gesturing to himself. “A… livin’ toon?”

**“Exactly.”**

The scene showed Joey leaning over a desk, surrounded by dozens of books. A lot of them had strange symbols and insignias on them. Joey flipped through a book before looking excited, a lightbulb appeared over his head as he grabbed ink and the book. Bendy could see that the cover read ‘The Illusion of Living’.

He knew that book, it was a special book that Joey kept around the office. There were copies, but there was only one that Joey himself always had on hand, one with everything handwritten in it instead of typed.

**“A long time ago, Joey had gotten into the darker side of magic, and had gained a strong interest in it. A curious hobby, that was all it was, at first.”**

The creepier demon frowned as he watched the screen. “ **The original book that he used to study was destroyed years ago in a fire, but he remembered much of it, and made his own book. He played it off like it was an instruction manual on how to do cartoons right, and how to be creative, how to make your dreams a reality. Well, I suppose satanic rituals and deals with demons is one way of going about it.”**

The scene changed, showing Joey drawing symbols on the floors and walls before he lit candles. He started to chant something, but there was no sound. Bendy’s eyes widened as he watched a strange being appear behind Joey, out of the circle. It appeared like a shadow, almost in the shape of the monster form the Ink Demon had taken.

“ **Joey had designed the Ink Machine to help the studio, and it did make things more productive, made cartoons faster, but it wasn’t enough. So, the idea of making cartoons from the show real was his best choice. Not only would it change things for animation forever, he’d have characters in his future amusement park.** ” The Ink Demon glared at the cartoon version of the director as he silently talked to the strange, demonic being.

Word bubbles showing images of the machine, of ink spots, and of Bendy, Alice, and Boris appeared around Joey. The demon seemed to look lost in thought before holding out his hand to him.

“ **In order to make us into a real being, Joey made a deal. He wanted strong energy in the next batch of ink to create us, you, but the demon told him that in order to do this, he’d have to offer up something big.** ”

“What did Joey give up?” Bendy asked, watching as Joey took the devil’s hand, giving it a firm shake, the deal was made.

He counterpart smirked. “ **Joey had no idea until after the deal. But what happened was that the demon decided to take half of his life. Every time Joey was to use the machine to make a cartoon character, he’d have to offer up half of his life.** ”

Bendy blinked. “Half his life? But all those clones… he should be dead! But we saw him, he’s alive, he’s fine!”

A deep growl came from the wild-eyed demon. “ **Ha! That’s only because he has me! Once that bastard found out what the deal was, he tried to figure out how to make toons without losing his life!”**

The screen showed a new scene, of Joey and several cartoon people, including what appeared to be a cartoon Thomas, standing before the Ink Machine. The two demons watched as Joey put a film reel into the machine, with it suddenly jerking around. Cartoon Joey dropped to his knees, looking to be in pain as the machine pushed out something, a blob of ink that took on the form of Bendy.

**“He figured out an alternative, where he used the souls of employees to do it. A life for a life, so to speak! As long as he used a life, not just his own, he could use the machine. You heard his tape to Thomas, the ink beings had no souls, so he gave them souls! Except not his own. He found a loophole that saved his life and also solved a problem with his ink beings.”**

The screen now showed screenshots of Joey shoving faceless employees into the machine, with them coming out as Searchers and Lost Ones. Some came out as the ‘Butcher Gang’, others as Boris clones. He saw Susie and Allison, both appearing as Alice, then Wally and Thomas as Boris. Norman as the Projectionist, Sammy as the prophet he claimed to be, so many employees turned into inky beings.

Bendy shuddered, staring at the cartoonish representation of the horrors Joey committed on his co-workers. “An’… what does dis have to do wit’ us..?”

The Ink Demon sighed, scratching his head. “ **Well, since ol’ Drew knew his life was cut in half, he decided that he needed to fix this. So, he started up his plans for immortality. If he could stop the sickness that was starting to slowly kill him, he could continue to live. Then he decided to just skip the whole eventual death thing. He wanted to become a cartoon himself. If it worked on the employees, it could work on him.** ”

The next part of the film showed Joey and Bendy, before they fused together, the animations overlapped to show Joey as a toon, but with devil horns and a tail now, and Bendy’s signature grin.

Something clicked in Bendy’s head at this.

He… he remembered… he remembered running down the halls, screaming before he was captured in Joey’s hold, taken to the Ink Machine, it was where it was currently sitting now. Bendy was shoved inside, but he fought back…

The screen showed what looked like recorded film, not a cartoon. Bendy was silently screaming and thrashing about as Joey tried to shove him into the ink, before the two of them fell in. But just before they went into the machine, Bendy’s form changed to that of the Ink Demon.

The footage seemed to jump a scene before Joey pulled himself out, coated in ink, but there was something coming out of a horrible gash on his arm. The film was black and white, but the blood was obviously red.

Then something came out with him. It was Bendy, but he looked like how the Ink Demon looked as the monster that had chased him in that maze before. But there were two glowing lights under the curtain of thick ink on his face.

“Is that… me?” Bendy asked.

“ **Yes and no.** ” The Other Bendy replied. “ **Here’s the thing, little me, when we were pushed into the ink… well… we hadn’t been in the Ink Machine since our birth. And we were born through a deal with a devil using demonic ink. We… well, do you remember our birth?”**

Bendy shrugged, rubbing his arm. “I remember… when I heard Thomas’ tape earlier, he said that I was unworldly. I remember… people bein’ confused and concerned about me, like there was somethin’ wrong wit’ me. Like they knew I wasn’t like anythin’ to ever come outta da machine before or after.”

He counterpart silently nodded. **“Yes, it seems that some people just knew we weren’t right, we weren’t… normal, perfect even. The Ink Machine runs on that demonic ink, constantly using so much ink the more Joey used it for his inhumane experiments to make toons, changing and reshaping the unholy tendencies of the liquid. And with us inside, we became a demon in more ways than one. It mixed with what was already in our body and blood.** ”

The film showed the Ink Demon approaching Joey, ready to strike, but Joey threw up his left hand, showing an upside-down Bendy mark. The Ink Demon came to a stop, silently hissing, but he backed down.

“ **We fused with the ink, but in just that brief moment we were in it, we took on the blood that Joey had shed into the ink from our attack on him. With his blood, we split. We were conflicted, we wanted to kill him, but we couldn’t, we couldn’t hurt a creator. So, the ink broke us in two. You stayed in it, protected, but I escaped. I was fueled by the anger in the blood I took from Joey, I was fueled by the rage from the truth of what was happening to everyone in the studio.** ”

He paused, bowing his head. “ **And I was fueled by the fear I felt at the idea that we would die, that we could never be like the real Bendy, the ones from the cartoons... I tried to kill Joey, but it turns out he took on the ink as well when it got into his open wound. He was marked by the ink, like many of the employees. But instead of being turned into a monster, he gained control over me! He became a new creature… the Director. He orders me around! He controls me with that mark! But only if I’m out of the ink…** ”

Bendy frowned, the movie ended, and the lights came back on. “What happened to me?”

“ **You stayed in the ink.** ” The other replied, turning to face him. “ **You are an innocent in this, you are the good feelings we have, and I refused to let Joey take you for his plans to keep himself alive. He didn’t know there were two of us, at least not at first. For a while, you slept peacefully, your mind trapped in here, but then the voices in the ink got through to you.** ”

He sighed and walked about the stage as he spoke. “ **You see, the Puddles were getting louder and louder, and they were trying to drag you in with them, to become just another lost voice. But I couldn’t let that happen. I wasn’t going to lose you, I needed you alive and sane. I rule the ink, I’m the Ink Demon! So, you know what I did?** ”

“… No, what did you do?”

The Other Bendy’s grin grew as his single eye glowed. “ **I gave you this… I gave you my eye.”**

“Wait, that’s your eye?! I’ve been usin’ your eye!? Oh cheese an’ rice, is dis why I can see what you see sometimes?!”

The Ink Demon laughed a bit at Bendy’s panicked expression. **“It is a piece of the Ink Demon that dwells in you, kept you sane. I used my eye to protect you and to erase the memories that the ink reminded you of. Well… not erased, more like… edited. I took out the memories of Allison and Wally, changing them into Alice and Boris, to make you think you weren’t the only real toon that wasn’t a failure. I let you keep your memories of Henry, changed some of the memories of the employees, locked away others.** ”

This caught Bendy by surprise. This whole time, his memories were scrambled up because of the Ink Demon!? And Boris and Alice, the ones he remembered, were just a reimagining of Wally and Allison, that’s too cruel! He would have been happier with them being who they were in his memories rather than fakes toons! Well, they’re fake toons now, but still, that’s besides the point.

“You’re why I can’t remember anythin’?! Darnit, why did you do dat?! I’ve been flippin’ mah lid about it fer days now!” Bendy snapped, approaching the other toon. “An’ fer dat matter, if you were doin’ all dis ‘protectin’’ an’ stuff, why da heck were you tryin’ to kill me an’ Henry?!”

The other demon didn’t seem phased by the yelling. “ **Calm down, Bendy. I have my reasons, you need to let me finish.** ”

“You keep flappin’ yer lips, but yer slow to da point. Fer da love of marmalade an’ toast, you’re honestly more enjoyable when ya just growled! Never took ya for da chatty type, Ink Demon!”

“ **Shut up, brat.”** He hissed, baring his sharp, jagged teeth. Bendy loudly gulped, holding up his hands in defense.

 **“ _Anyway_ , Joey didn’t know you existed, until he realized from the voices that something was living in the machine. He forced the answer out of me and I told him that you and I both existed. He was going to use you, but I told him that there was no way he could gain back his lost life if he only fused with one of us. So, he came up with yet another idea!**”

The lights went out and the projector started again. This time the screen showed Bendy, the Ink Demon, and Henry with lines connecting them as a triangle.

“ **Joey discovered that you and I couldn’t fuse back together, we were too different, we weren’t one Bendy anymore but two. You were the original, I was a copy, a new design that didn’t fit with the original plans. I wasn’t… perfect. But Joey figured out that to bring us back together we needed the Creator to redesign us.** ”

Bendy blinked, looking at the toon Henry. “You called Henry da creator before, does dis mean… wait, if he can just do it, why didn’t you tell us before?”

“ **It’s not that easy. We need his soul to become one Bendy again.** ”

“What?!”

The Other Bendy nodded. “ **We are the creation of the Creator, we are a bit of his heart and soul put into art, we are his favorite. However, because we are not perfect, not his design, we are no longer fused with his heart and soul, we can’t stay separated any longer. It sounds… dumb, cliché even, but we’re cartoon characters, what did you expect?** ” He looked conflicted, trying to find the right words now.

“ **Bendy… these changes to us, especially to me, are because we are falling apart. We cannot handle these unapproved changes, we’ll die soon if we don’t become perfect again. And only Henry can do it, but he has to die to let us live as one.** ”

The imp looked very uncomfortable. “I don’t get it, you’ve changed a lot, just like I have, but neither of us are really fallin’ apart! And… and besides, I thought dat nothin’ truly dies here! Henry’s come back several times!”

One golden eye looked at him before the Ink Demon laughed. Bendy didn’t like that reaction, making him cross his arms as he tapped his foot. “An’ what’s so funny about all dat, big guy? Do ya find humor in dis situation?”

“ **While it is true that death is nearly impossible here, doesn’t mean that we’re all immortal. Let’s face it, ink isn’t forever. We can easily die at the hands of a bottle of acetone. We can also die when we are too unstable to keep our forms, our minds forever lost to the well of voices in the Puddles. Sure, it isn’t ‘death’, but it’s still a way to die where there isn’t a chance in hell of you ever pulling yourself together. Honestly, it’s a fate worse than death.”**

Bendy swallowed, his hands shaking. “So… da Puddles contain…”

**“The voices of those who are too lost and far gone to come back together, to truly be alive? Yes. And it will happen to us. We can’t stay separated any longer, we need to be one Bendy, we need Henry’s life to keep us together. I’ve done my best to keep us both stable, but I’m stretched thin, I’ll die and so will you just seconds later because I can’t support you.”**

****

Staring at his counterpart, Bendy mulled this over his head. He was going to die, he was going to become a lost voice like so many in the ink. But he didn’t have to die, he could keep living, but with such a high price? The loss of his dearest friend, the one who means so much to him, the man who is practically his father…

How could he live with himself if he let Henry die?

He would forever be racked by the guilt, knowing he killed someone who had been his biggest support in the studio, who had risked his life so many times to keep him safe.

“I’d rather die than kill Henry!” He shouted, catching the Ink Demon off-guard. Before the other could comment, Bendy continued, his fists shaking.

“He an’ I have survived a whole heck of a lot down here to just die now! I won’t be lettin’ you or Drew take him away from me, not again!” Bendy snarled, ink rose from his body, a golden speck of light came to his right eye, but… nothing else happened. He wasn’t changing into his ink demon form. “What…?”

 **“Ah, yes, there’s something interesting you should know.”** The Ink Demon smirked. **“As long as I have my eye back, well… you can’t change. In this place, and even out there, you’re powerless against me. You can’t use the powers I gifted you with.”**

Bendy stepped back, eyes wide in panic. “But… but you gave me yer eye to protect me! You said so yourself!”

**“Yes, but we’re fusing together now, despite how much you’re protesting against it. We need Henry still, but it’s starting on its own. So, there is no need for you to have the eye when I can use it for myself, for us. You don’t need to deal with the burden anymore, I will take care of us. I will make everything better…”**

Shaking his head, Bendy jumped off the stage. “No! I don’t wanna be part of you!”

The Ink Demon looked down at him, not impressed, before sighing. **“I hate that we’re so difficult. I know you’re terrified of death, of being part of the endless sea of voices, I fear it too. I fear the darkness in this place, the Puddles…”**

This caught Bendy off-guard. The look on the other’s face, the tone of his voice, he was being serious. “But… you’re da ink demon of da studio, you’re da most feared creature in da whole buildin’. What do you fear about those puddles?”

 **“Bendy, I told you, they’re where you go when you ‘die’ here. They’re where I’ve spent so long, trying to protect you, trying to hide from Joey. The voices… the constant voices!”** He snarled. **“Every time I go in, all I hear are the voices of people from the past, both in the ink and alive in forms out of it, ridiculing me..! When they called us a monster, unholy, all the things Joey called us…”**

His form shifted a little, his horns growing as ink started to run down his face, the golden eye glowing. **“The guilt I feel whenever I’m stuck there sticks to me like glue! I constantly walk the halls of the studio and I travel through the ink, but I try to be in the halls as often as possible! The ink hides me from Joey’s control, but… it scares me to hide there because of all those voices, of the chance that I might not be able to find the exit. That they’ll wear me down by reminding me of who we are, what I’ve done.”**

He jumped off the stage, looking over at Bendy, a frown on his face as he crossed his arms. **“I take pride in scaring others, of being the Ink Demon, but I am scared of the ink just as much as they are. I fear the darkness, I try to stay in the light, those film reels in my room are not just to remind me of my goals, they keep the darkness away. You’re afraid of the darkness as well, you’ve heard the whispers when you get close to dark places, to leaks.”**

“… Yes, an’ Henry knows of ‘em as well…”

 **“I not only fear them for their words, but I also fear them because I know they’re people that were innocents in all of this…”** The Ink Demon sighed, his form shifting back to a normal Bendy look. **“Sure, I’ve killed many a monster down here, including Sammy, but it’s for their own good, being an ink creature like that is no fun, especially those creatures you call Searchers. They’re living whispers, and their existence is pain.”**

Bendy swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. “So… if we end up dyin’, we’ll end up like them at some point. Great.”

**“Why do you think I want us to be whole again? I don’t want us to end up like that, and Henry will join us there! But if we merge together, with him, with his life to bind us, then he will be spared that fate, as will we. We will finally be a toon with a soul, like your friends Boris, Alice, and Tom! Henry will be our soul, he will live on in us.”**

“I just… I get what you mean, but I can’t do it.” Bendy shook his head. “There’s gotta be another way for us to be one Bendy again, one without killin’ Henry!”

The demonic copy growled. **“What other way is there!? We need the Creator’s life force! I’ve read Joey’s research, I’ve looked into the magic he used to make us! We need the Creator for this to work!”**

Bendy stammered, watching as the ink on his counterpart become wet again, his form changing into that of his current appearance in the outside world. He looked worse, so much thinner, bonier, his ink dripping off him constantly instead of just shifting about on his person. The beast form was even scarier now. “We are gettin’ worse…”

He had to figure out something, what could they do? They were doomed if they didn’t become one again, he knew this. As much as he hated to admit it, they really were the same character, two sides of the same coin. Bendy tried so hard to ignore this fact, but no matter what, he felt an unconscious connection with his other half. And… he felt bad for him, he was a pawn in this too, of whatever Joey had tried to do but failed at.

Even as a monster that killed and frightened those in the studio, the Ink Demon only existed to protect Bendy, he protected the weaker, nicer half of himself. Bendy understood this, it made sense, he couldn’t just let this guy suffer anymore, no one needed to suffer anymore.

But he could never hurt Henry! They’ve been through so much together; the human was practically his father! And Bendy wasn’t going to let his other half kill the human just so they could keep living!

They’ve fought this demon together, destroyed inky creatures and solved puzzles to survive, they even did the Angel’s dirty work for her together. Henry’s kept Bendy safe, even dying to do so, and Bendy did his best to take care of Henry when he had been injured before they met Boris and during the fight in the ballroom. Heck, Bendy even risked using acetone to clean up his animator’s wounded hand after the guy had healed his back.

With… his blood.

Wait a second, wasn’t blood a human life force? Something that kept them alive?

A lightbulb appeared over Bendy’s head as he snapped his fingers, a grin coming to his face. “Other Me! I’ve got a brilliant idea!”

 **“And what would that be?”** The other asked, leaning down closer to him.

“We don’t need to kill Henry! I’ve got his life force inside of me!”

The smaller demon couldn’t see the Ink Demon’s eyes, but he was sure that he raised an eyebrow. **“What do you mean, little me?”**

“A few times since all of dis began, Henry’s spilt blood an’ I’ve absorbed it into my body, my ink! I’ve even bled a little of it myself! We can be whole again wit’ the blood in me!”

The other’s form shifted, and ink splashed off of him as he returned to how he looked before, his single eye looking at Bendy with curiosity. **“That sounds like a cliché way to solve this problem.”**

“I know it does, but it’s da best way to keep Henry alive! Plus, it might show up Joey if we become one Bendy again without killin’ him!”

The Ink Demon sighed loudly after pausing to give this some thought. **“…How do I know you’re not lying to me on this? How do I know you have his blood?”**

Bendy opened his mouth to respond but snapped in shut. He actually didn’t know how to show that he had the blood in his body in this place. “Do you know how I can do it?”

**“Give me your right hand.”**

Reluctantly, Bendy held out his hand and the demon took it, slipping the big glove off. Bendy was surprised to see that his hand was clawed, and a white version of Henry’s mark was on his own palm. The mark was thinly outlined in a bright red, with faint red lines coming out it, like veins almost. **“Well I’ll be damned again, you really do have his blood.”**

Blinking, Bendy looked away from his hand to the Ink Demon. “What do ya mean?”

Releasing Bendy’s hand, the Ink Demon removed the glove on his left hand, the same hand that his more terrifying form had gloved. He presented his palm, showing an upside-down version of the mark, white just like the mark on Bendy’s own hand. **“This is Joey’s mark, it’s how he controls me because of his blood being in my body.”**

“I see. Do ya think when we become one Bendy again, his blood will leave our body? Cause I do not want dat jerk’s blood flowin’ in mah ink!”

 **“I should hope so.”** The demon smirked before frowning, holding out his right hand. **“Bendy, if we do this, we may never split apart. There’s a chance that only one of us will be in full control, the other trapped forever inside the other.”**

Bendy looked at the hand before looking up to make eye contact with the other toon. “I get dat there’s risks, but I’ve been dealin’ wit’ risks for days now just to get outta here wit’ my best friend. An’ I’m gonna take ya wit’ me outta here. You’re me, in a scarier way, and you’ve protected Henry, even if you tried to steal him from me in da ink. You’ve saved him by guidin’ him through the Puddles, you protected him from da Projectionist.”

He swallowed and nodded. “I know that… I know dat yer da one who left those hidden messages fer Henry an’ me. Not sure how ya got those ones in da prison cell though.”

**“You are correct, I did leave those, and the note. Those were to help you in finding out the truth. The ones in the cell, those were made by me cleverly sneaking in when no one was looking and you two were sleeping soundly. I can turn my lines on and off at will, your guards never knew. I left those messages for you to escape, to find your way to safety and to learn the truth.”**

“So, you did try to help us! See, this is what I’m gettin’ at! You’re not da bad guy you try to paint yerself as. You’re angry an’ scared, like a lotta people here, like me an’ Henry. But we can fix dat. So, let’s do this, Ink Demon, let’s be da Devil Darlin’ we’re suppose to be.”

The Ink Demon smiled as he took Bendy’s hand, giving it a squeeze. **“Yeah, there’s only one Bendy, and that’s us.”**

Black and red lines spread over both of their hands and ran up their bodies as the two stared at one another. They both could feel their ink shifting rapidly, a heat building up in their chests as the Ink Demon’s eye glowed a bright gold.

The last thoughts on Bendy’s mind before he was consumed by a sudden darkness were that he hoped this plan would work, and that he’d get to see Henry alive and well after all of this.

\--

Henry’s eyes were wide as he stared at the mass of shifting and flowing ink. There was no true shape to it, it was just a moving blob of ink that sometimes took on a familiar shape of crescent moon-shaped horns. Sometimes he could catch the slightest bit of golden light from the mass, but it might just be his mind playing tricks on him.  
  
“Bendy…” He said in a shuddering breath before he dropped to his knees, screaming. The sound that came from him was more like a roar of pain and sorrow as ink exploded from his mark, engulfing much of his frame. It coated him, acting like a shield, the deformed Bendy’s that came from the ink were completely different from the ones before. They had no faces, except for a large X, and a few dropped from his body, looking ready to fight.

A few ran towards Joey, and the man grimaced, throwing his arm up. Ink rose from the grated floor, knocking the little Bendy creatures away. But they just got back up and tried to attack him as Henry continued to completely give into the ink in his blood. His body shook as ink smeared across his eyes, leaving only pinpoints of green and gold light to be seen as he turned, seeing the man in the wheelchair. Joey was still attacking at the clones as they tried to climb up the chair and Henry watched as one was crushed in the director’s hand, ink leaking from his fingers.

With a horrible screech, Henry charged, his ink-soaked hand was massive and clawed as he moved towards Joey, only to have inky lines suddenly run up his legs, freezing him at the paralyzing pain that he felt. He dropped to his knees, gagging on the shout trapped in his throat from the pain. The Bendy clones removed themselves from Joey as quickly as they could, making their way to their fallen creator.

“Killing me won’t get your precious demon back.” Joey replied, his voice too calm for the situation.

Henry snarled, his hand shaking before he balled it into a fist as he slammed it into the floor, leaving a massive dent. **_“Bendy… my cartoon, my son… he’s gone! How can you be so calm about all of this!?”_**

Joey looked at him before sighing loudly. “The Ink Demon wasn’t supposed to do this, he was supposed to wait for me to fix this, but he decided to take things into his own hands. He’s off the deep end, I can’t even control him right.” He looked down at the black mark on his hand.

He narrowed his eyes as his hand and turned his attention back to Henry. “Well, since he’s already starting his work, might as well help him out to make sure he doesn’t betray me like he wants to.”

Ink from the throne shot out and clamped around Henry’s throat, making the man gasp in shock. “Now, Henry, let’s discuss a few things.” Joey smiled, but it was obvious that it was forced.

The animator growled, trying to pry the inky grasp from around his neck, but it started to morph, fusing around his own ink-soaked hands. He suddenly found himself slowly being lifted off the ground as Joey moved his hand up.

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” The director commented. “So many who worked here were stained with ink, they called them ‘marks’. Sammy and his cult believed they were special gifts from Bendy, bah, nonsense, it was just signs of changes. But you and I, Henry… oh, we truly were given gifts!”

He twitched his fingers and more ink started to attach itself to Henry, keeping him in place, to prevent him from kicking and moving his arms. “I have the ability to move the ink, to make the Ink Demon do what I want, I ‘direct’ the ink, so to speak. But from what I’ve seen, you make things out of it. You can create those tiny Bendy’s of yours, and, well…”

Joey smirked as he looked at Henry’s ink coating. “You create for yourself protection. Fascinating, we have the powers of a director and a creator in terms of the ink! Brilliant! Oh, how kind of the ink to give us such powers, even at such a cost.” He suddenly started to cough hard.

 ** _“What do you mean?”_** Henry asked as he tried to release himself from the liquid binding.

“Henry, a long time ago, I had the Ink Machine designed and installed, using the amazing technology of GENT and of my knowledge of the forbidden arts. But when we tried to make toons a reality, nothing good happened, just lumpy ink. So, I made a deal with a demon.”

Henry’s eyes widened. **_“Joey..! How could you!?”_** So, his assumptions had been right, Joey had done something so stupid as to summon a demon! If someone had told this to Henry thirty years ago, he wouldn’t have believed them, but after everything he saw…

“I had to, Henry!” Joey snapped, the ink tightened around Henry, making him cry out. “I had to do it! What we made together, from just a simple sketch, into a star on the screen, it was slipping through my grasp when you left! I gave you the rights to draw Bendy and his friends still, I know of your comic, it’s good, a success, even for a newspaper one, but the animation studio… the cartoons... I had to do something to fix it.”

The man sighed, leaning back in his chair, he looked like he was exhausted. Henry guessed it had to do with the fact that he seemed to have aged way too much in just thirty years, hopefully Joey would explain that.

“But I know... I know... you have questions. You always do!” Joey continued, as if reading the other’s mind. “The only important question is this: Who are we, Henry? I thought I knew who I was...”

Joey paused, seeming to be lost in thought. “... but... the success starved me. Nothing left but lines on a page. I drew a line I shouldn’t have crossed. In order to make my dreams a reality, to bring life to what we made, what you created, I made a deal with a demon. He said I’d be able to give life to Bendy and the others, but I didn’t realize that meant I’d have to give up half my life for each ink creation I made.”

**_“W-what? Joey, are you saying you look like this, that you’re this sickly, because you sacrificed half your life?”_ **

“Yes, and all I made was Bendy. I couldn’t afford to lose more and more of my life. What if the demon tricked me again, he never told me the details of the contract! Bendy is made of blood and ink, of a film reel of your creation, and what life the demon stole from me. And Bendy was off, he was so off. Perfect in appearance and personality, but it turns out the demon played a trick on me again, he put demonic ink in that cartoon, he was dangerous, he cost me half my life! I got… I got desperate! I was terrified, I didn’t want to die, so I took an even worse path.”

Henry knew what he was implying, and it hurt to think about it. _“You used the lives of others, to make dreams a reality…”_

“It started with Susie. That poor, sweet girl, she wanted nothing more than for her dreams to come true. From there, things got worse and worse, and I just let it all happen, like I was making things great again. No, it all turned into a living hell. Then I tried to get my life back, I tried to kill Bendy in the ink, but all I got out of it was the mark, the powers, and two imperfect demons…”

He sighed loudly and looked up at the screens around them. “In the end, we followed two different roads of our own making. You, a lovely family. Me... a crooked empire. And my road burned. I let our creations become my life. The truth is, you were always so good at pushing, old friend... pushing me to do the right thing. You should have pushed a little harder.”

Joey’s eyes suddenly turned black, with a glow of gold in each one as he smirked at Henry, squeezing the ink around his throat, making him gag. _“But you can help me again, Henry, you can push me harder to my goal.”_

 _“J-Joey…!”_ Henry struggled, trying to get his own ink to remove this, but it wasn’t working.

_“You see, Henry, I figured out a way to get my life back. I let Ink Demon finish fusing with your precious Bendy, and then I let him fuse with you! You, as the creator, can fix them into one, true Bendy again, all they need is your life source!”_

Henry stared at him in shock. _“Life s-source!? You want me to die!?”_

 _“A life for a life, my friend.”_ Joey sighed. _“If they don’t get your life source, both of those devils will die, with no chance of returning. They’ll be lost to the ink forever.”_

 _“No..!”_ He growled, trying to fight again. _“And how does this even help you!?”_

_“I’ll control Ink Demon once he kills you, and I’ll use my powers to fuse us together, I’ll get my life back, I can make things better again! I can fix everything you could have fixed if you had stayed!”_

Ink suddenly engulfed Henry’s head as he tried to scream. He found himself in darkness, but he could feel it moving. Then he saw glimpses, of faces, but only for a moment, blink and you miss it. They were faces he didn’t know, and ones he did. He saw Sammy, Noman, even Susie and Wally. He was seeing the Puddles for what they were, he was seeing them in their true light.

A screaming well of voices, with the ghosts of those who were trapped.

He could hear voices all around him, whispers and shouts, voices he knew and didn’t, even his own at one point.

_… In between the breakdowns you can always find the keys!_

_…It's time to believe in what you can't see…_

_There’s only terror there that waits for you, decaying dreams and nothing more._

_…He comes out of the shadows…_

_We’ve got lots to do, little errand boy…_

_I can feel my life slipping, that’s when he asks, can I get an amen?_

_Who says only deities design the divine?_

_… simply just ink and gears…!_

_Even in the lighter side on hell, we sing with delight…_

_I walk this river of conscious… for a time we come to escape here._

_Now you know what it’s like to be the one betrayed!_

_I feel myself breaking down… but you can’t stop me now..!_

_… Isn’t this a nightmare, dripping ink, it’s right there…_

_So, you’ve come to the end now, alive but dead inside._

_You've been away for far too long…_

_How long have I been here? No one comes to help. I’m haunted by a madman, a person of my past…_

**_Well, we can’t have you here anymore, Henry. How about you stop playing around and actually do something, hm? He tried to kill you and Bendy, so… kill him in return._ **

Something slammed into Henry’s back right after these words were spoken. His eyes widened, and he screamed, the bubble around his head popped, spraying the black substance everywhere. He struggled in the wet restraints, breaking free his right arm. Ink exploded from his now-freed hand as it shifted, forming into what appeared to be a scythe.

He broke his arm free from the inky restraints and swung, slicing through the ink to free himself. Henry slashed at any ink attached to him before he dropped to the ground, he turned his attention to Joey, looking at him with a burning stare. The tiny Bendy’s that remained had moved to attack, hissing from mouths that didn’t exist as they started to melt, but that didn’t stop them from moving towards the director.

Joey glowered and moved back, using the ink on the floor to do so. “Damnit, Henry, why do you always have to give me trouble!?”

 ** _“You want me to_ die _to fix your problems!”_** Henry yelled. **_“I’m tired of this, Joey Drew! I’m tired of always havin’ to pick up the pieces for you, and havin’ to ‘push you’ as you said! I just wanted to live my dream of drawin’ and animatin’ cartoons. You nearly ruined that over thirty years ago. Oh, hell, you_ did _ruin that! You stole the studio from me!”_**

“I-I left you the ability to draw them for comics, isn’t that just as good?” Wrong answer, Henry didn’t seem to calm down with that response.

He stomped towards the man in the wheelchair, ink flowing around him but also falling to the ground in large chunks. **_“I came back, hopin’ to bury the hatchet between us, but instead I come back to the studio in shambles! Co-workers are dead or turned into monsters, or both! I had to kill Jack and Wally, I saw Susie, Sammy, and Norman die before my very eyes!”_**

His golden eye was just a tiny speck within the sea of black that was his left eye, and it was focused completely on Joey. **_“I’ve been nearly killed, and have been killed, on one too many occasions, and I almost lost Bendy to a man you drove insane with your ideas!”_**

He stopped in front of Joey, the man had backed into a wall. “N-Now, Henry, let’s be rational…” Joey stammered out, nearly screaming with the end of the scythe was suddenly embedded in the wall next to him. He felt things clawing at his skin and clothes, but his attention wasn’t on the clones, it was on the furious former friend of his.

**_“I just watched what is essentially my own son become consumed by the demon that’s been chasin’ me for days… and my old friend wants me to die just so he can get back the life he gave away for some stupid dreams!?”_ **

Henry tore the scythe blade from the wall, screaming as he moved to attack. Only he stopped when there was a loud splashing sound from behind him.

He turned, looking over at the morphing blob of ink. It seemed to move about before suddenly dropping to the ground in a large puddle. The two men watched as the giant puddle stopped moving, until something shifted beneath the surface. This was broken by a rising, strange shape, almost like Bendy’s horns, except… not.

The object was like a large blob, with Bendy’s head, and grin, ink dripping down its face. This form didn’t last long, it suddenly collapsed on itself, into a massive lump. But this didn’t last either, the form changed into something much more familiar. Standing up from the ink, with lumps of the substance coming off, was Bendy, with his back turned to them.

He seemed to be looking at his hands in confusion, his tail shifting about through the puddle. _“Bendy?”_ Henry asked, catching the demon’s attention.

“Bendy, huh? How long has it been since anyone’s called me that?”

Henry tensed up, no… he knew that voice, he knew that voice... _“Bendy, your voice… you sound like him, from the Puddles, why?”_

A chuckle came from Bendy as he turned on his feet, arms behind his back, his eyes closed. There was something unsettling about his grin. “I’m surprised you recognize my voice from there, but I suppose it does sound different in this body, and not my normal one either. You know, the one you’d hear in your head whenever I wanted to have a chat with ya, old man. Come on, don’t you recognize it, **Creator?** ”

Something clicked in Henry’s mind and he gasped. _“Ink Demon…”_

“Bingo!” Bendy, actually, Ink Demon’s, grin grew at this as he opened his eyes.

The left eye was the golden eye, but the right was completely hollow, even leaking a bit of ink when he opened it. “You’re a smart boy, hehehe. Bet you had no idea I was your friend in the ink! Come on, it was so obvious, who else is gonna be the one to speak to you so clearly in that hellhole.”

The demonic Bendy looked at the two men in the room, studying them. “Now, seems like you and Joey were having a talk! I’m thinking that he was telling you about dear old me and what happens now that I’m fused with your Bendy.”

Henry stared at him, if Ink Demon was here, in Bendy’s body… did that… did that mean… _“Oh God, is he…”_

“No.” Ink Demon replied as he toyed with his gloves, carefully removing them. “He’s very much alive, we’ve just made a deal to occupy one body together.”

“But how!?” Joey shouted. “How is that possible, you’re supposed to be an inky mess until you get Henry’s life!”

“Life _source_. The requirement was life _source_.” The demon frowned, looking up at Joey with his single eye. “Listen, old man, Bendy has had Henry’s life source in his body for days now, his blood. Blood keeps you humans alive, correct? Well, we figure it might be what bonds us together into one Bendy and look at that! It worked.” He smirked as he gestured at himself.

“You damned…!” Joey clenched his fist as ink shot towards Ink Demon, but it stopped just inches from his face. The director watched in surprise as the ink liquified and dropped to the ground with a loud splat. “W-what?! What did you do!?”

Ink Demon chuckled as he held up his left hand, showing the upside-down mark, white in appearance. There was a red border around the mark, looked to be blood. “Seeing as I’ve taken on Henry’s blood, and there’s a lot more of it than what you’ve put in my body, I’m more in tune to the ink that Henry controls and uses. And because I’ve got more of that…”

The blood from the mark bubbled and liquified on the palm of his hand before he turned it, dripping the substance onto the floor. “I no longer need your blood to help me. I’m not yours to control anymore.”

The two humans watched as the blood slipped into the grated flooring around the throne, vanishing into the river of ink that flowed beneath their feet. “Good bye.” Ink Demon smiled, wiggling his fingers a little before his expression turned hard.

It happened fast, Joey’s chair was thrown several feet, making the old man scream as he was tossed out, hitting the hard ground with a grunt. He groaned, trying to sit up as the demon approach, a murderous look in his eye. “D-Demon, please..!”

“Don’t think for even one second that I didn’t know of your true plans for me becoming perfect again.” The toon growled, his teeth were like fangs as the ink trails started to cover the walls. “You were planning on making me perfect, only to fuse us together once you weakened me with that cursed reel! The reel that would be the end of all your problems.”

An unsettling grin grew on the toon’s face as he reached out towards Joey. “Well, I can end your troubles in my own way, with one… little… **touch…** ”

“Bendy, stop!”

Ink Demon paused, just inches from touching Joey’s head, when he looked over at Henry. He noticed that the ink that had coated him was gone, back to his hand, on the floor. Henry looked at him with a calm, tired expression. In his hands was the reel. “Spare him.”

“What?” Ink Demon snipped. “Why should I!? He’s done so many horrible things! He just tried to kill you!”

“If we kill him, we’re no better than him. Just… let him live the rest of his life, what little there is of it, with the guilt of his actions. Let him live on the remains of his ‘crooked empire’, as he so called it.”

“You want him to live in guilt?” The other questioned. “You think that’s better than death?”

“It’s worse, and it’s the least of what he deserves. If he dies, he learns no lesson and he can’t do anything about repairing the damage he’s done, he gets out of this mess scot-free.” Henry approached him carefully. “Demon, let’s just go. I want to leave, see my wife, I promised Bendy I’d… well… I guess that’s not going to happen now.”

Ink Demon looked at him, at the reel, before snatching it from his hands. “He’s alive, I told you this. He’s just letting me be in control. We share this body, we’re two Bendy’s in one vessel, it’s the best we can do. This way neither of us has to die.”

“But what’ll happen, who controls the body?”

“Both, I suppose it depends on who wants to walk around more. I can let Bendy take over, but you need me to escape, to get back up.” Ink Demon frowned as he looked at his hands. Henry could see that the white mark on the left hand was completely gone, but the right hand had one similar to Henry’s own. “We need to end this.”

“How do we do that?” Henry asked, watching as Ink Demon approached the throne, taking the reel out from under his arm. “But isn’t that, well, The End? What will it do?”

“It will end all of this.” Joey groaned as he sat up. “It’s meant to end all of this chaos… that strip of film was specifically designed to fix things, once Bendy was whole again. I was going to use it to take him down and take his ink, to get back my life.”

Ink Demon glared at Joey, watching him try to get back into his chair. “It can do a lot more than just that. I think if we play it, it could end this. The studio never truly saw the end it deserved, neither have all of these trapped souls in the ink. If we play this, there’s a chance that we can fix this, we can, as Sammy said, set them free.”

“What happens when we do this?” Henry asked, looking up at the screens. “Will things go back to normal?”

“There was never a normal, I believe the ink will release the trapped souls, let them finally move on. I’m sure it will do other things, but it’s best we just get this over with. Henry, it was a heck of an adventure.” Ink Demon said as he looked at the creator, before putting the reel into a projector on the throne, activating it.

“It sure has been.” Henry sighed as he watched the screens shut off, before new images appeared on them, showing a title screen.

The End.

There were loud sounds, like things being shut off, the sounds of flushing liquid at a powerful speed. The ground shook as Henry gasped, dropping to his knees as another one of those strange visions took him over. He looked up at Ink Demon, surprised to see that he was standing there with Bendy, both of them watching the screens around them before the vision suddenly ended.

Henry found that Ink Demon was still there, his hollow eye leaking more ink as he stared at Henry. “Now the debt has been repaid. Time to go home.” He said before opening an ink portal on a wall, his voice quiet and almost lost. He seemed like something had been taken off of his shoulders but left him unsure of what to carry now.

“Wait, before we go, we need to take him with us.” The artist gestured to the sickly man in his wheelchair. “I know you hate him, but we can’t leave him.”

Ink Demon looked at Joey before groaning loudly, his lost look completely wiped away. “Fine, grab him and let’s go, we need to make a pit stop somewhere before we get to the first level anyway.”

Henry looked at him in confusion as he moved to grab the handles for Joey’s chair, but the director waved him off. “I’m fine, I can do it myself. I’ve traveled the inky puddles myself in this old thing.”

The animator watched as Joey pushed himself away, looking more like his age and condition than before. Here was the man so many people in the studio feared, so many had been hurt by, killed by, that they spoke about in tapes of voices long since lost to the Puddles. A once-powerful man, who ruled the studio like a king, now forced to stare at it, to see the ruins of his kingdom he didn’t deserve.

Quietly, Henry followed after Joey, seeing Ink Demon standing at the entrance to the portal as the director slipped inside. “Will he be able to get away?” Henry asked, watching the other shake his head.

“No, without our connection, he can’t do anything in the Puddles, except to travel through them because I am allowing it. I removed his blood from my body, he no longer controls me, Creator.” Ink Demon spoke as he stepped into the portal with Henry. The darkness of the Puddles was quiet, with only soft whispers that seemed to be fading. There were no terrifying faces nor was it pitch black; the light was ahead. It was like when Henry only used his right eye to see the Dark Puddles, except nearly silent now.

“Where are the voices?”

“Gone to the afterlife, I assume. That reel has the power to release us all from the curse of this godforsaken place, we can leave. And all the souls trapped in the ink can finally move on, you freed them, Henry. And, heh, of course… **I’m here with you, in the flesh!** ” Ink Demon chuckled, his voice slipping more into the one Henry had heard in the Puddles.

Henry gave a nod as they walk towards the light at the end of the inky tunnel, Joey slowly rolling on ahead of them. They were quicker to exit, and Henry was surprised to find that they were back in the large cavern that held the two Ink Machines, he was back where he had left Alice and Tom.

Alice and Tom, where were they!? He glanced around, trying to find them, but he watched as Ink demon approach two, large puddles on the ground. “Your friends are here.” He spoke, pointing at them.

“Did they…” Henry hoped not, they didn’t deserve to die in the ink..! Well, no one did, but he at least knew those two had been safe and sound out of the substance.

Ink Demon shook his head as he shoved his hand into one of the puddles. “They just needed a moment to… change, heh.” He suddenly pulled back his arm, bringing up someone from the puddle, throwing them out with a loud, wet splat. The shape was clearly human, but from the looks of the left arm, this had to be Tom.

Wait… did he return to being human? What about Alice, Henry thought as he watched Ink Demon do the same with the second puddle, yanking out another human-looking figure soaked in ink.

“How did they return to normal?” Joey asked, reminding Henry that the man was still with them.

“The ink was done with them, they’re the most stable creations you made using other people, and they weren’t killed and returned to the ink. They’re the last survivors of the studio, so… I guess the ink said ‘hey, we don’t need you to be Alice and Boris anymore, get outta here’. I don’t know, this stuff is confusing. Even I don’t understand it all, and that’s for the best.”

There was a loud coughing from Tom as he rolled onto his side, trying to get up. The ink on his body started to run off fast, just like what it did to the animator when he stopped using his ink powers. He could see the familiar face of Thomas Conner from under that ink, wide eyes looking around until they landed on Henry.

He opened his mouth to say something, but a soft moan caught his attention. The other one, Alice, was waking up. The ink pooled off her body as she laid on her side, eyes slowly opening. “T-Thomas…?” She asked softly, looking at Tom.

A smile came to his face as he moved over to her. “Allison… Allison, baby, you’re okay.” He whispered as he pulled her up into a hug.

Henry blinked, watching them. Was this Allison Pendle, the girl that Susie had mentioned her tape when she was fired? “Hey, are you two alright? Do you remember what happened?”

Alice, no, Allison, turned to look up at Henry. She looked confused, before smiling at him. “Henry, you’re alive! And… and we’re alive, we’re okay, we’re alright. And Tom, you’re not Boris anymore, am I still Alice?”

“Only in voice.” Tom chuckled and held her close, before looking up at the others. He narrowed his dark eyes at Joey. “You, you’re still alive?”

“I’m just as shocked to see you alive, Tommy.” Joey chuckled as he leaned back in his chair. This only made Tom hold Allison closer as he turned his attention away from Joey, looking back to Henry now. He asked what happened, was it all over, and what was going to happen now.

“I confronted the Ink Demon with Bendy. They fought one another, they broke important parts of the machine, and then Ink Demon and Bendy fused together.” Henry replied, gesturing to Ink Demon, who was looking away.

Allison frowned as she moved to stand, helping Tom to his feet. “They fused? Is… is Bendy okay?”

“He’s fine.” Ink Demon stated, glancing at her. “He’s resting, this is a lot for him to take in and even I’m exhausted but there’s not a lot I can do about that, one of us needs to be moving about to get us all outta here. I’ll take us up to the first level and we can get out.”

Tom glared at the little demon. “How can we trust you, if you’re that monster.”

Ink Demon looked up at him, crossing his arms. “Because you don’t have any other choice and I wanna leave as well. I hate this place more than anyone else, and I think you know that. After all, Bendy and I, before we split, lived in your work space for so long. Oh, wait, not lived… we were locked in there.”

The former Boris shut his mouth, glancing away.

“Exactly.” Ink Demon scoffed. “Anyway, the Ink Machine is shutting off, the ink here is releasing the trapped souls, and soon it will be no more, and we will have no reason to be here anymore. It’ll be just an abandoned studio, so we better get going. Though I am curious, what happened to you two?”

“We were waiting here for Henry,” Allison spoke, “when we heard noises, and saw a flash of light come from the machine. Like a projector turning on. I remember a burning feeling, before I saw only darkness, heard whispering, and felt things changing on my body, like my horns vanishing. Then… you pulled me out, and Tom as well.”

“I thought so, The End changed things for you, as it was supposed to.” The demon nodded and turned, opening up another portal. “Time to go.” He said as he walked into the ink.

Tom and Allison looked at one another before taking each other’s hands and walked towards the portal, stepping inside. Henry moved to follow but saw that Joey hadn’t budged. “You comin’, Joey?”

“What happens now, old friend?” Joey quietly asked, looking at the massive Ink Machine. “The last of my legacy is here, in this cavern, in this sea of ink. I have nothing left outside of this room, except memories and endless guilt.”

Joey sighed and looking up at the dark ceiling. “I had tried to do the impossible and got so close. I was like Icarus, flying to the sun, only to have my wings melt and I fell. Hard. Heh, I suppose that makes you Daedalus, the smarter one, the one who flew correctly and went down a less-dangerous path. Oh, how I envy you. Your curiosity was never as terrible as mine.”

“I came here out of curiosity to see if you wanted to make amends, Joey.” Henry replied. “And I kept goin’, even after bein’ chased by the Demon on the first floor, fallin’ down to the music department, because I was too curious to see what had happened. Through my questions and wonderin’, I met Bendy, I made a dear friend because of that meetin’. I met Allison and Tom, along with Wally. And then I saw what happened to the others, and to our studio. Joey, I hate you so much for what you did, and I would love to kill you. But what would that do for me?”

They were silent as they let this question sink in. “You’d be no better than me if you had put that scythe into me instead of the wall.” Joey spoke.

“You have more self-control than I ever had, Henry, more than I ever will. I made these problems and tried to put the blame on others. I thought my follies were everyone else’s and not mine, but they are, and always will be, no matter how much I tried to deny it. I am the true monster here, and… as much as I fear dying because of the curse I put on myself, there’s nothing I can do. I made this bed, now I have to lie in it.”

“So, you accept your mistakes? The problems you caused? The blood on your hands?”

“Yes.”

“What will you do now?”

Joey looked down at his lap, before looking at his hand. The black mark was faded, no longer a solid black, it was as if he had tried to wash the ink off. “I’ll live out the rest of my days with this guilt on my shoulders. You may have cleaned up after me, like old time, but there are ink spots that not even you can wash out because of me. And I’ve accepted this. I can’t blame anyone else anymore, nor can I run.”

Henry simply nodded and moved to grab the back of the wheelchair, silently pushing Joey into the portal. The Puddles were nearly silent as they walked to the end, finding themselves to be in the damp, stained upper level of the studio, where it all began. The projector was playing The End on its screen, the speaker that sat on the chair glitched as it tried to play music.

Allison and Tom stood nearby, with Bendy, not Ink Demon, standing by them. Bendy smiled brightly at Henry, despite how exhausted he looked, as he turned to face the creator. Bendy looked normal, even with his tail, and his odd eye had drastically changed. No longer off-model, it was pie-cut like the other one, except it was a golden color instead of black.

“Henry, we did it! We saved everyone an’ we can go home!” Bendy gleefully cheered as he ran up to the human, hugging his leg.

Home… boy, that sounded really good right now.

Henry just wanted to return to his house, next to Linda, with Bendy there, safe and sound. He smiled and patted the demon on the head but paused when he saw that he was still marked on his palm. “Shouldn’t this have gone away?”

Bendy looked at the mark before frowning softly. “The other me, he said dat as long as we’re one Bendy again, an’ we’ve got yer blood in our body, you’d still be marked. It keeps us connected, an’ safe.”

Henry looked at the Bendy-shaped stain on his skin, chuckling softly. “Well, as long as it keeps you with me, I’ll deal with it, and what I assume is my new eye now. Bet that’s still weird lookin’. At least it’s not somethin’ worse. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

He moved towards the door, surprised to see that the floor no longer had the large hole in it, as if someone attempted to fix it up. He looked over his shoulder at the open room, seeing the churning gears of the **JOEY DREW STUDIOS** sign, seeing his old friend staring at it. “Joey, it’s best to leave this place behind. It’s less you have to carry on your shoulders. Live whatever life you have left as best as you can, stop dwelling on what happened or what could have happened, it ain’t good for you.”

Joey looked back at Henry, a blank look on his face, as if he was thinking, before he smiled a little. “I… suppose you’re right. You were always the smart one out of the two of us.”

“Of course.” Henry replied as he picked up Bendy, the little toon snuggling close to him, as he walked to the exit. He carefully turned the knob and opened the door. The blast of cool, night air that hit him was happily welcomed as he looked at the parking lot, where his truck sat. He saw the car that had been left there when he had arrived, making him think it belonged to Allison and Tom.

Bendy stared in awe, his eyes wide as he grinned brightly. “I’m outside… an’ it’s beautiful!” He jumped out Henry’s arms and looked around, up at the night sky, at the grass in front of the studio that was in need of a trimming. He seemed to inhale through a nose he didn’t have, looking so happy as he took in fresh smells that weren’t of ink and old wood. He took notice to something else, something amazing.

He could see colors. He could see the colors of the world in the bright lights of the street lights that appeared to still be working here, he could see so much, and though it was simple, every day sights, to him it was all amazing.

“How do you like it, Bendy?” Allison asked, amused as she looked at him.

He turned and smiled more. “I’m so happy, I’m… I’m out, I’m finally outside…” He sniffed, rubbing at his eyes. “Thank you, thank you Henry, ya kept your promise to me.”

Henry chuckled as he picked Bendy up again. “That’s just part of it, we still need to head home now.” He turned to look at the other three. “Allison, Thomas, thanks for sparin’ us back there, and savin’ us as well.”

Thomas approached, holding up something. It appeared to be a wallet, and he opened it up, pulling out something, a slightly ink-stained business card. “Here, this is my number. If you ever wanna chat and check up on us, give me a call. And don’t be a stranger, you turned me and my wife back to humans, and saved us, we’ll treat you to a nice meal at our place or whatever.” He seemed embarrassed as he said this, and Henry could hear Allison giggling.

Reaching out, Henry took the card, seeing Thomas’ name and contact information it, along with his business and such. Hm, seems he worked as a mechanic in Canada. Smiling, Henry slipped the card into his pocket. “Thank you, Thomas. And hey, I’m sure my wife would love to meet you two, I’ll contact you as soon as I can. Now, go home, I’m sure you two would love that.”

“You as well.” Thomas nodded, patting Henry on the shoulder. “Take care, Henry, Bendy. We’ll see you around.”

“Yes, good bye for now.” Allison smiled as she took her husband’s hand, walking towards their car.

Henry looked over at Joey, who had remained silent this whole time. “Do you need a ride?”

“I took my own car here.” Joey spoke as he gestured to another part of the parking lot. “I suppose I should get going myself.”

“Yeah.” The animator nodded, adjusting Bendy in his hold. “Joey… we can never repair the damage done to our friendship, especially after the horrors I saw back in there, but… I can at least say thank you, for makin’ Bendy real.”

“You’re welcome, Henry.”

“Good bye, Joey. Enjoy the rest of your life, alright?” There was a small pause before Henry saw Joey nod and start to move away from the studio. He watched as Joey rolled himself away in silence, knowing this would be the last time he saw his old pal. It’s probably for the best.

Looking up, Henry looked at the old building. He remembered the day they first opened, when the paint was fresh and bright, the sign happily presenting the logo. A month after that, they had a wooden Bendy head sign hanging above the awning that hung over the door. It’s long gone now, the sign was faded by weather, and the paint was peeling.

“So long, old friend.” Henry whispered to the studio as he made his way to his own truck. “Come on, buddy, let’s finally go home.”

\--

Deep within the studio, the Ink Machines no longer pumped their ink. They simply stood in silence as soft whispers of departing souls filled the empty caverns and rooms of the old building. Dozens of spirits finally getting the rest they deserved as the projectors continued to present the final screenshot of the _Bendy the Dancing Demon_ cartoons, the last scene of the show that let you know it was done.

The two words that they displayed were what so many people had wanted for the once-little studio, the place where, over thirty years ago, a young artist drew a grinning demon and gave him life on film.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Epilogue: What else is there left to say for a creator and his creation, one year to the day, since they walk out of the old studio and went on their way?
> 
> See you guys in the last part!
> 
> (By the way, you all have official permission to ask me for things I did not answer in this chapter, totally going past my spoiler-free rule in my replies, excluding anything that'll be included in the epilogue. So ask away!)


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